Man stopped at RNC with gun is arrested near DNC in Chicago with Glock, ammo
A Wisconsin man who was caught carrying a gun near the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee was arrested in Chicago Monday after police saw him parked near the United Center on the first day of the Democratic convention and later found him with a firearm.
Despite being on the radar of the feds during both nominating events this year, Cook County prosecutors declined to charge Juan Pablo Zaldua-Vargas with a felony.
Zaldua-Vargus, who holds a concealed-carry license in Wisconsin, faces only a misdemeanor gun charge, and he was released from custody pending a court date next month.
A spokesperson for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said that charging decision was informed by the fact that Zaldua-Vargas holds that license.
“After a review of information presented to us by police, it was determined that the totality of the evidence was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to file felony charges,” the spokesperson said. “As prosecutors, we have both an ethical and legal obligation to make charging decisions based on the law and case evidence.”
His arrest comes after officials spent months creating a comprehensive security plan aimed at mitigating and preventing threats to Chicago’s convention.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential nominee, both addressed a crowd of political insiders at the United Center on the day Zaldua-Vargas was taken into custody.
Concerns over the safety of political leaders have grown in the wake of the attempted assassination attempt of former Donald Trump last month. A police report shows that federal law enforcement agencies worked with Chicago police on the Zaldua-Vargas case.
A Chicago police report shows that U.S. Capitol Police reported they stopped Zaldua-Vargas in a truck during the Republican convention, which ran from July 15-18, just days after Trump was wounded in the attempted assassination during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Zaldua-Vargas, 28, had a gun but was apparently let go because he had a license to carry it.
About noon on Monday, Chicago police received information that the same truck was seen close to the United Center during a protest, according to the report. Officers set up surveillance around 1410 W. Fulton St., where the truck was parked, and waited for Zaldua-Vargas to return.
Zaldua-Vargas eventually returned with a women and drove off, the report says. Police stopped him when he made a traffic violation as he got onto Interstate 90/94 at Ogden Avenue.
He denied he had a gun or a license to own or carry one publicly, according to the report. Throughout the interaction, he exhibited “nervous behavior: sweating profusely, wide-eyed and stumbling over questions asked by officers.”
After acknowledging that he typically carries hunting rifles, officers searched his truck and found an unloaded Glock handgun, “multiple loaded magazines” and a police-style radio.
He told police he was a medic and was in town for the DNC “to help out,” the report stated.
Zaldua-Vargas and another woman previously described themselves as “[v]olunteer street medics” in a GoFundMe campaign that raised nearly $50,000 for medical supplies, such as bandages and protective masks.
The campaign stated that they planned to travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020. That shooting, which followed the police killing of George Floyd, led to violence and unrest in the city in southeast Wisconsin.
Zaldua-Vargas was taken to the Area 3 police station at Belmont and Western avenues, where the Cook County state’s attorney’s office declined to charge him with a felony, according to the report. He faces a misdemeanor charge of unlawful use of a weapon. His initial court date was set for Sept. 9.
Zaldua-Vargas didn’t respond to a request for comment.