Psychiatric evaluation ordered in Capitol case

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A Silver Spring man accused of running through the U.S. Capitol building Monday with a loaded handgun will undergo days of psychiatric evaluation and treatment before his arraignment.

Carlos Greene, 20, should be considered a flight risk, federal prosecutors said, because he was on parole for assaulting a police officer and on probation in Maryland for unspecified charges.

At a court appearance yesterday, Magistrate Judge John Facciola ordered Greene held until a hearing Friday.

Greene spoke only briefly, thanking the judge on his way out of the courtroom.

He led police on a car chase and nearly hit two pedestrians before crashing on the Capitol grounds Monday, officials said.

After a foot chase through the Capitol, Greene tried to grab a shotgun from a police officer before being subdued, authorities said.

Law-enforcement authorities yesterday described the security breach as the worst since two U.S. Capitol Police officers were fatally shot in 1998 by a man with a history of mental illness.

Acting Capitol Police Chief Christopher M. McGaffin, who has called for a review of security measures on Capitol Hill, said Greene was charged with assault on a police officer for ramming into a police cruiser and with drug possession.

"This was unacceptable by my expectations for Capitol Police," Chief McGaffin said. "It was an unfortunate breach of our security."

Authorities said that Greene was tackled outside a basement office used for the distribution of U.S. flags shortly after he burst into the Capitol at about 8 a.m.

No shots were fired, and no one was injured.

Congressional aides told reporters that the man appeared to suffer a seizure after his arrest and was taken by ambulance to Greater Southeast Community Hospital.

On July 24, 1998, Russell Eugene Weston Jr. fatally shot Capitol Police Officers Jacob J. Chestnut and John M. Gibson outside of then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's office.

That incident prompted Capitol Police to revamp and add security procedures inside the building.

In the past three years, according to court records, Greene has been convicted of disorderly conduct in Montgomery County and fleeing a police officer in the District.

He also was accused in June in the District of gun and traffic charges and is awaiting trial.

nStaff writer Jerry Seper contributed to this report.