Dallas police officers arrested a man outside of a hotel where the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, was set to hold his election night watch party on Tuesday.
In a statement, a Dallas police spokeswoman said officers had been alerted to a “suspicious individual” at the hotel around 5:15 p.m. Central Time, and that the man drove away and was stopped and arrested on traffic violation charges.
While searching the car, which did not display a proper license plate, officers recovered ammunition, according to the spokeswoman, Melinda Gutierrez.
Shortly before the Paxton watch party was set to begin at the Marriott Dallas Uptown, officers could be seen pulling what appeared to be ammunition for several types of weapons from the car. The man was wearing a camouflage face mask, sunglasses, a hat and gloves.
Shortly after searching the vehicle, the officers removed the man’s face covering and placed him into a police vehicle. Ms. Gutierrez said no firearms were found in the car.
The man had entered the hotel and asked to use the restroom, saying he was an Uber driver, according to a member of Mr. Paxton’s campaign staff who said he had spoken with the man briefly.
The police officers searching the blue car appeared to also take a license plate from inside the vehicle, along with the ammunition.
Doors opened for the Paxton event at 6 p.m., and many members of the candidate’s staff had already gathered inside the hotel, along with reporters. Mr. Paxton was set to appear later in the evening. A few dozen of his supporters were gathered in a reception hall as most polls closed at 7.p.m., and few appeared to be aware of what had taken place downstairs.
J. David Goodman is the Texas bureau chief for The Times, based in Houston.
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