Overview
- Carter Camacho, 18, entered guilty pleas on Monday to illegal possession of a firearm on U.S. Capitol grounds and to receipt or distribution of child pornography.
- Prosecutors say Camacho drove from Smyrna, Georgia, changed into camouflage and a tactical vest, and ran toward the west side of the Capitol on Feb. 17 carrying a loaded Mossberg shotgun with a round chambered and the safety off.
- Surveillance video and officer accounts show he complied with Capitol Police commands and was taken into custody without injuries, and investigators recovered a handwritten journal in his car with violent language targeting AIPAC and members of Congress.
- A post‑arrest search of Camacho’s phone produced images and videos that led to the child‑pornography charge, creating separate federal exposure beyond the weapons count.
- Camacho remains jailed and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 8 in U.S. District Court in Washington; the case highlights active DOJ enforcement of gun laws on Capitol grounds and the role of surveillance and officers in preventing harm.