Philadelphia

Two Arrested Amid Probe Into Philly Vote Counting Center Threat

The two men have not been identified. Police seized their SUV, which had stickers on it promoting the conspiracy theory QAnon

NBC Universal, Inc. Two men were detained by Philadelphia Police after a tip about a threat toward the Pennsylvania Convention Center — where votes are being counted — led investigators to a Hummer with Virginia license plates. NBC10’s Miguel Martinez-Valle reports.

What to Know

  • Philadelphia police said they arrested two men for not having permits to carry the guns they were armed with near the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where vote counting is ongoing.
  • Police said they had received information Thursday that individuals armed with firearms were on their way to the convention center in Philadelphia in a Hummer.
  • Police say both men will face firearm charges but have not been formally charged yet.

Police arrested two men in Center City Philadelphia late Thursday after receiving a tip that they were making threats against the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where the city's mail-in ballots were still being counted.

Police were told the men were coming up from Virginia armed with AR-15s, police sources said.

Police spotted the silver Hummer parked along North 13th Street, near the Convention Center. The SUV was decorated with stickers promoting the conspiracy theory QAnon.

Two bicycle officers approached the men, investigators said. Each man was carrying a firearm and another weapon was found in the vehicle, which they admitted belongs to them, police said.

A search revealed the men didn't have a license to carry a firearm in Pennsylvania, so each man was arrested, police said.

The identities of the two men have not been released. The FBI and Philadelphia police continued to investigate, police said.

Philadelphia has set up a massive vote-counting operation at the Convention Center, where mail-in ballots have been counted around the clock since Election Day. The count has drawn loud protests by supporters for both President Donald Trump and his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden.

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