The 44-year-old Washington, D.C. man accused of trying to smuggle a machete and three more knives into the Capitol Visitor Center has been released from custody. Mel J. Horne is accused of trying to get through a magnetometer and X-ray security screen after putting two pocket knives and a box cutter in the plastic tray. Authorities then searched his bag and found the machete, according to the criminal complaint.
Horne stated that he was visiting the U.S. Capitol to attend Former President Carter’s Lying in State Funeral and that he possessed the knives and machete to use for landscaping work. Police noted that there were more than 6 inches of snow on the ground and that the city had declared a snow emergency, then asked him when his last landscaping job had been. Horne advised that he was not coming from or on his way to a landscaping job and that he was homeless, and that he carries these items everywhere he travels.
Horne had been living with his parents until they asked a court to kick him out in 2022, according to court documents in an unrelated civil case. It was dismissed without prejudice after he agreed to leave, with the caveat that he could return to take care of bonsai trees in their yard.
His mother, Brenda Horne, alleged in a civil complaint that her son had started using a substance to get high or alter his mind, and that he had become violent. The case was ultimately dismissed without prejudice and Horne agreed to stay away from his parents’ home for a year – with the caveat that he was allowed to return only to the property’s exterior to take care of his bonsai trees.
Horne’s mother could not be reached for comment.