A 35-year-old Carlsbad man is facing a misdemeanor weapons charge after police said he brought a 10-foot guillotine to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., as part of what his father described as a protest.
Tattoo artist Philan Le was arrested Tuesday and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon outside a home or public building, according to court records. Le pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday and was granted pretrial release.
According to a police report, Le was parked in front of the Library of Congress on East Capitol Street South in a permit-only zone. Le told officers he was not there for a specific reason nor to see a specific member of Congress, according to the report.
His vehicle and the guillotine were impounded.
Le had announced his plans on social media before making the trip to Washington.
“I built a guillotine. I’m going to drive this f—– to Washington D.C.,” Le said in one video.
His father, Huy Le, told NBC San Diego he had not heard about his son’s arrest before being contacted about it.
“No, I already told him that’s stupid,” Huy Le said.
Huy Le said his son spent three months building the guillotine in his backyard in Carlsbad. He said his son intended it as a political demonstration and did not plan to hurt anyone.
“He was thinking like to demonstrate he is upset. So like a mannequin of somebody he thinks is a dirty politician. Put the name on the mannequin then probably try to make a video and send it to his dumb friends,” Huy Le said.
Philan Le is a tattoo artist who previously worked as a guest artist at Berserker Tattoo Studio in Julian. The shop’s owner declined an on-camera interview but said Le’s clientele largely came from Carlsbad. The owner said he and Le had a falling out some time ago over Le’s alleged drug use. The owner added that Le’s political views were never discussed at the shop.
Social media appears to have been one place where Le expressed his political views.
“There’s a bunch of unelected officials making all the decisions of this place and getting us involved in international conflicts and forever wars,” Le said in one social media video.
Huy Le said his son loaded the guillotine into his black Toyota Tacoma more than a week before his arrest and told him he was heading to Colorado Springs without further explanation.
“For him, it’s a joke. He tends to do it without considering it could be serious thing, but he really meant no harm to anyone,” Huy Le said.
Huy Le said his son grew up politically conservative but had become disappointed with his circumstances. He said his son has strong feelings about the economy and the U.S. war with Iran.
“Affordability, you know, we’re OK. But he’s not, so he feel with the poor and he feels the administration is not doing what they promised to do,” Huy Le said.
Huy Le also expressed concern about his son’s health and questioned what he may have told police about his intentions.
“He’s a diabetic. He’s type 1, so everything has to be right with him, his medication — everything . The thing that I don’t know is what did he say? What does he intend to do with that?” Huy Le said.
Before leaving for the trip, Philan Le addressed the possibility of violence in another social media video.
“I would like to make things very clear. I harbor no ill will or intentions of violence toward anyone,” Le said in a video posted showing the guillotine in the background.
According to the police report, Le told officers he has a concealed carry permit and owns a handgun. The handgun was not on him at the time of his arrest.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.