A suspect with a machete at the US Capitol was granted pre-trial release just before the Trump inauguration.

A 44-year-old man from Washington, D.C., who was accused of attempting to smuggle a machete and three knives into the Capitol Visitor Center on Wednesday has been released from custody.

Mel J. Horne is accused of attempting to bypass a magnetometer and X-ray security screen with two pocket knives and a box cutter in the plastic tray.

The machete was discovered in his bag during a search by authorities, according to the criminal complaint. He was released on a conditional pre-trial release following a hearing in D.C.'s Superior Court last week, but specifics about the case are not yet available.

According to the police, Horne claimed that he was going to the U.S. Capitol to attend the Lying in State Funeral of Former President Carter and that he had the knives and machete for landscaping work.

When was your last landscaping job?

"The affidavit stated that Horne advised that he was not heading to or from a landscaping job. He added that he was homeless and carried these items with him wherever he traveled."

On the same day Horne attempted to smuggle weapons into the Carter memorial, President-elect Trump will be inaugurated for his second term on January 20.

In 2022, Horne was living with his parents until they sought a court order to evict him. Court documents from an unrelated civil case reveal that the case was dismissed without prejudice after Horne agreed to leave, with the condition that he could return to care for bonsai trees in their yard.

"Brenda Horne, the mother of the individual in question, claimed in a civil complaint that her son has been residing in their house rent-free for the past year and has recently begun using substances to get high or alter his mind. As a result, he has become violent and the family is now afraid and wants him removed from their home."

Read the police affidavit

She identified "PCP" as the drug she believed he was using, which made him difficult to handle when she called community resource officers.

"Four visits from Community Resources on Friday were required to remove him due to violence, and he remains hospitalized in an attempt to recover," she wrote.

She requested the judge to order the removal of the judge from her property and to mandate mental health treatment for him.

Court documents reveal that the case against Horne was dismissed without prejudice, and he agreed to stay away from his parents' home for a year. However, he was granted permission to return only to the property's exterior to tend to his bonsai trees.

Horne's mother could not immediately be reached for comment.

Read the civil complaint

Last week, Horne was apprehended by the U.S. Capitol Police at an X-ray machine in the Capitol Visitor Center for attempting to enter with a large machete and three folding knives.

Hours before Trump's visit to pay his respects to Carter, who was lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda, the event occurred.

"J. Thomas Manger, the U.S. Capitol Police Chief, emphasized the importance of maintaining a high level of vigilance after an arrest. He stated, "Our officers must remain focused and attentive to detail at all times in order to ensure the safety of this campus.""

Carter died at the age of 100 on Dec. 29.

Although the nature of Horne's prior conviction was not immediately clear, the incident report identified him as a prior felon. He had been jailed previously in 2019, but the Department of Corrections refused to release records on that case.

He is now charged with multiple counts of carrying a dangerous weapon.

According to the document, two officers stopped Horne at the security screen and allegedly found other knives after searching him further with probable cause, following the discovery of a machete.

Later that day, another individual was arrested by Capitol police, Adrian J. Hinton, a 35-year-old resident of Virginia, for suspected arson of a car near the Grant Memorial.

The cases are not believed to be connected, authorities said.

Neither arrest interrupted the Carter memorial.