Lee Roper | 11/06/2020
One of the two men arrested outside the voting center in Philadelphia on Thursday night is ‘Vets for Trump’ founder Joshua Macias.
Macias, 42 and QAnon conspiracy theorist Antonio Lamotta, 61, were arrested on Thursday outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center where ballot counting was under way after authorities received a tip that a man, his mother and another person were driving to the Philadelphia region in a Hummer to “straighten things out.”
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Philadelphia police say the men had an AR-15 and roughly 160 rounds of ammunition.
Macias had a concealed carry permit in Virginia which is not recognised in Pennsylvania. Lamotta a member of ‘Vets for Trump’ and owner of the Hummer where the AR-15 was found told police officers he does not have a gun permit and was placed under arrest.
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They were charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license, a third-degree felony and carrying a firearm in public streets or public property according to the District Attorney’s office. The woman who was with them was not charged with any crime.
The incident took place a few hours after Donald Trump’s press conference at the White House where he said the election is being stolen from him in places like Philadelphia. A message that was amplified by news outlets like FOX News and supported by prominent Republicans senators like Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham.
