Police: Woman claiming to be law enforcement, member of president’s cabinet arrested at inauguration checkpoint

A woman was arrested at a security checkpoint near Union Station in D.C. Saturday morning claiming to be a law enforcement officer, police said.

U.S. Capitol police officers stopped the woman, identified as 63-year-old Linda MaGovern, of Connecticut, around 8:45 a.m. at a security checkpoint at First Street and Columbus Circle Northeast.

Police said MaGovern showed a military challenge coin and told officers she was a law enforcement officer and a member of the president’s cabinet.

As the officers continue to question her, she drove off but was later stopped at 50 Massachusetts Avenue where she was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer, failure to obey and officer and fleeing a law enforcement officer.

She was taken to the D.C. Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program for an evaluation and was later processed at the Capitol police headquarters before being taken to D.C. Central Cell Block.

This arrest comes on the heels of a Virginia man who was arrested for attempting to bring a firearm and ammunition through a security checkpoint near the Capitol Building on Friday.

José Umaña

José Umaña is a digital editor for WTOP. He’s been working as a journalist for almost a decade, covering local news, education and sports. His work has appeared in The Prince George’s Sentinel, The Montgomery Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, PressBox and The Diamondback.

Zeke Hartner

Zeke Hartner is a digital writer/editor who has been with WTOP since 2017. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University’s Political Science program and an avid news junkie.

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