Larry Dawson, the man shot by United States Capitol Police after reportedly pulling a gun at a security checkpoint in the Capitol Visitor’s Center, was known as an advocate for a $15 federal minimum wage.
#CapitolShooting suspect Larry Dawson charged w/ assault w/deadly weapon & assault on an officer while armed. @wusa9pic.twitter.com/mfMDikIOtN
— Ellison Barber (@ellisonbarber) March 29, 2016
According to WUSA, Dawson has a long history of legal problems.
Dawson filed for bankruptcy in 1996 and, between 2000 and 2012, accrued 16 tax liens and small claims judgments against him, records show.
Beginning in the 1980s, Dawson worked on and off as a bus driver for Williamson County Schools, spokeswoman Carol Birdsong said. During that time, he also worked as a part-time cafeteria worker.
He was fired in the spring of 2001 after his arrest on harassment charges. Dawson, who was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of harassment in writing, wrote a letter on Aug. 8, 2003, professing his love for a teenage girl and his desire for her to become his wife and have his child, The Tennessean reported at the time. Dawson was arrested on an identical charge in March 2002 for sending the same girl more inappropriate letters.
In one of those letters, he claimed God told him to contact the girl and asked her to come live with him.
Additionally, Dawson was known to USCP. He was arrested last October when he shouted “I’m a prophet of God” from the visitor’s gallery in the House of Representatives.
C-SPAN video of today’s Capitol Hill shooter disturbing the House Chamber last Fall > https://t.co/mlWby4i5VV
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 28, 2016