On Thursday, 42-year-old “Vets for Trump” co-founder Joshua Macias was arrested alongside a 61-year-old QAnon and anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist Antonio Lamotta while the two men were headed to the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the site of the city’s ballot count, to “straighten things out,” according to the Daily Beast.
Police said the men drove from Virginia to Philadelphia, and that at the time of their arrest the men had pistols, an AR-15 rifle, and nearly 160 rounds of ammunition.
“They lacked valid Pennsylvania firearms permits to carry, and were charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license, a third-degree felony, and carrying a firearm on public streets or public property, the District Attorney’s office said Friday.,” reporters Will Sommer and Pilar Melendez wrote.
While a friend of Macias claims he had just driven to Philadelphia to observe the vote count, Macias had spoken at a Trump rally in 2015 and posted images stating that Democrats were trying to steal the 2020 presidential election from President Donald Trump, something Trump himself and his campaign surrogates have repeatedly stated for months.
The District Attorney has suggested both men be denied bail and is considering other charges against Macias and Lamotta.