A woman was arrested at an inauguration checkpoint Saturday morning for impersonating a law enforcement officer and fleeing from police, officials say.
Linda Magovern, 63, of Stratford, Connecticut, was arrested near Union Station after she said she was an officer and “a part of the presidential cabinet,” and presented a military police challenge coin, a D.C. police report says.
Magovern approached the inauguration perimeter at Columbus Circle and First Street NE in a vehicle at about 8:45 a.m., police say.
She was “displaying a round metallic object later identified as a Military Police Challenge Coin,” the police report says. The medallions are used by law enforcement and members of the military to recognize achievement.
Police say Magovern then said she was an officer and presidential cabinet member.
An officer ordered Magovern to put the vehicle in park and turn it off. She complied but drove forward after an officer asked for her license.
Officers repeatedly ordered Magovern to stop the vehicle, but she headed north on Columbus Circle, police said. She was stopped nearby, outside Union Station.
Magovern was arrested and charged with impersonation of a law enforcement officer, failure to obey and fleeing a law enforcement officer. It wasn’t immediately clear if she had an attorney.
She was taken to a hospital to be evaluated.
Security is high in D.C. ahead of Inauguration Day on Wednesday, with more than 15,000 current National Guard members in D.C. as of Sunday morning, NBC News reports.
In another arrest this weekend in the area, a Virginia man carrying an unlicensed gun and ammunition was arrested early Sunday, police say.
Guy Berry, 22, of Gordonsville, was walking with a handgun “clearly visible in a holster” as he walked in the 200 block of Massachusetts Avenue NE, a D.C. police report says. He was then found with “three high-capacity magazines” and 37 rounds of ammunition.
It’s illegal to open carry firearms in D.C., and D.C. does not have reciprocity with other states’ concealed pistol licenses.
A Virginia man was arrested at an inauguration checkpoint on Friday after he showed police a "non-government issued" inauguration credential and officers found a gun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck. He said he got lost and forgot he had the gun with him.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
