U.S. Park Police said Monday they arrested a 21-year-old for disrupting Saturday’s March for Our Lives rally on the National Mall.
Mitchell Martinez of Coral Gables, Florida, faces disorderly conduct charges for allegedly interfering with a permitted event.
The Washington Post reports that Martinez allegedly had yelled something during a moment of silence at Saturday’s rally. Martinez reportedly told authorities he yelled, “I am God.” But witnesses allege he yelled, “I have a gun.”
He also allegedly scaled a fence near the rally stage while holding a speaker, which was later thrown at the stage.
While I was uploading ^ that video, a man jumped the barricades at the MFOL stage, threw something and sent the crowd into a panic until an organizer calmed people. Park police arrested him. Incident lasted less than a minute but scared the hell out of everyone here. pic.twitter.com/leFr7SZl5k
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) June 11, 2022
Authorities said six people suffered minor injuries as a result of the panic, including one juvenile.
In a statement Monday, police said they later found that Martinez was not armed and “posed no larger threat to the public.”
