Carter Camacho, an 18-year-old from Smyrna, Georgia, has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm on the grounds of the United States Capitol. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Camacho appeared for the first time in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey. A detention hearing is set for March 2, 2026.
According to court documents, on February 17, 2026, Camacho parked a white Mercedes SUV on Maryland Avenue SE between First and Third Streets at around noon. He then exited the vehicle wearing a tactical-style vest and camouflage clothing while carrying a firearm and ran toward the Capitol.
Upon reaching the steps on the western side of the Capitol, Camacho was approached by a uniformed officer from the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP). When asked what he was carrying, Camacho showed the firearm. The officer ordered him to stop and lie down on the ground.
USCP officers recovered a Mossberg Model 88 12-gauge shotgun loaded with seven rounds in the tube and one in the chamber; its safety was off. Seventeen additional rounds were attached to the shotgun’s stock. Officers also found a fixed blade knife about forty feet from Camacho’s vehicle after tracing his path back to it.
Camacho told officers that he had come “just there to talk to a Member of Congress.”
The investigation is being led by the U.S. Capitol Police Department, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan M. Horan—detailed from USCP—is prosecuting the case.
