Associated Press Published

DHS Analyst Who Took Gun to Work Set for Plea Hearing

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A Department of Homeland Security analyst is due in court for a plea hearing on charges that he took a gun and other weapons into his agency’s Washington building.

A hearing is set Wednesday in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, for Jonathan Wienke, who has tentatively signed a plea agreement.

Court filings allege Wienke carried a backpack with a knife, infrared camera, pepper spray and handcuffs into agency headquarters June 9. Authorities found a gun in his pocket.

Filings say authorities found ingredients for explosives and gun silencers at Wienke’s Martinsburg home.

Wienke previously pleaded not guilty of firearms charges related to making illegal silencers.

In July, the department’s chief security officer told a congressional subcommittee there’s “no indication” Wienke planned workplace violence.