Man arrested after Washingon police find 16 guns in car

WASHINGTON -- A man who police said may have made threats against President Bush was arrested Wednesday about two miles from the White House after authorities discovered 16 guns in a car he was driving.

The man was stopped around 12:30 p.m. EDT in the Adams Morgan section of Washington. Washington Police Chief Charles Ramsey said the suspect may have threatened Bush, but he offered no specifics.

The Secret Service received information Tuesday suggesting a man was driving from Pennsylvania toward the White House with explosives. The Secret Service issued an alert for police agencies to be on the lookout for him.

Washington police stopped a Chevrolet Cavalier registered in Pennsylvania and driven by Jeffrey Cloutier, 33, of Newport, N.H.

Authorities found 10 rifles and six handguns in the car, but Ramsey said no explosives were discovered.

Newport Police Chief David Hoyt said his department was alerted Tuesday night that Cloutier was headed to Washington, and officers notified the Secret Service based on that information.

Hoyt would not discuss what information the informant provided or who it was, but noted it was not a relative.

The Secret Service declined to comment on whether Cloutier had made any threats toward the president, but a New Hampshire law enforcement source said Cloutier had talked of harming Bush.

"He said President Bush was doing a poor job, and he was going to take care of him and take over," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Cloutier's grandmother told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that her grandson had been having problems recently and had sought treatment for epilepsy.

"He needs help and he needs it bad," Marjorie Cloutier said. "I think he was trying to get help and he wasn't getting it."

She said she was not aware, however, of any problems her son might have had with Washington.

Cloutier rented a vehicle from an Enterprise Rent-A-Car office in Claremont, N.H., several days ago, according to sales records from the rental company. He got another car when he arrived in the Philadelphia area, according to Aaron Phinisee, manager of an Enterprise office in Center City Philadelphia.

Cloutier then picked up a white 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier from an Enterprise Rent-A-Car on Route 291 near Philadelphia International Airport Tuesday night, the company said.

Cloutier was held for investigation of possessing unregistered firearms and ammunition. Cloutier's wife was also taken into custody, but a Secret Service source said she was unlikely to face any charges.