The department announced that Capitol Police arrested a man who was stopped during a screening at the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesday afternoon for the smell of fuel and for having a torch lighter and a flare gun.

A 28-year-old Michigan man, whom police did not name, approached a screening area and left a backpack and coat on the conveyor belt around 12:20 p.m., Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters at a briefing outside the building. Capitol Tuesday afternoon.

“As soon as the backpack and jacket entered the screening area, U.S. Capitol Police officers on duty in the screening area saw what appeared to be something shaped like a firearm,” Manger said.

“They also saw two bottles in his backpack,” Manger said. “As the man stood there… one of the officers noticed a faint odor of gasoline, and when he removed the backpack from the conveyor belt, he noticed a much stronger odor of gasoline.”

Manger said officers found bottles containing what appeared to be an accelerant, a flare gun and a lighter, as well as documents the suspect planned to deliver to Congress.

The police chief said the man is in custody and being interviewed by officers, and the department is still determining his intentions. The man’s car was found a few blocks from the Capitol, Manger said.

“There were some items in his backpack that he might have wanted to set on fire,” Manger said. “It didn’t look like he had wet all of his clothes. Some of his clothes smelled of gasoline, but not all of them. “So it’s really unknown at this point what his intentions are.”

The visitor center remained closed for the rest of the day as Capitol Police investigated.

The Capitol Visitor Center, Library of Congress and Botanical Garden were open Tuesday despite increased security across the city. The Library of Congress and the Botanical Garden will remain open to visitors.

Ahead of Election Day, Capitol Police set up bike parking barricades and erected fencing around the area on the west side of campus where the Inauguration Day stage will be located. Some businesses in the city have boarded up their windows, and federal and local officials in the District of Columbia are preparing for possible unrest in the coming days and weeks.

“From early voting last week through Election Day tomorrow and the inauguration, our team has one focus, and that is how we keep Washington, D.C. safe and secure for residents and visitors throughout election week and beyond,” the D.C. Mayor said. Muriel Bowser said at a news conference about security at Metropolitan Police headquarters Monday afternoon.

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said the department will work with the Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure a safe post-election period.

“We remain in close contact with the U.S. Capitol Police on a regular, daily basis, as well as with our other federal partners,” Smith said.