NEW: Man arrested at US Capitol Visitor Center who 'smelled like fuel,' was carrying torch, flare gun

On Tuesday afternoon, US Capitol Police arrested a man at the Capitol Visitor Center who was stopped during the screening process who "smelled like fuel" and had in his possession a flare gun and a torch.

Capitol Police said that the visitor center will be closed for tours for the day as they investigate. 

According to NBC4, the person arrested was a 28-year-old man from Michigan.

US Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told reporters that around 12:20 pm a man entered the south entrance of the Capitol Visitors Center and approached the screening area, where he "stood there for a few seconds" and then placed his coat and backpack down for screening.

US Capitol Police officers staffing the screening area saw "what appeared to be something in the shape of a firearm," as well as two bottles in the backpack, which he later said police believed to be full of an accelerant like gasoline.

As the man stood there, officers "noticed a faint odor of gasoline" and when the backpack was pulled off the screening conveyor belt, "they noticed a much stronger scent of gasoline." It was at that point that the man was placed under arrest.

Manger said that the man "had papers with him that he said his intent was to deliver them to Congress," adding that there was "quite a bit" of papers.

Manger later said when asked whether the man had planned to set himself on fire, "he had some articles in his backpack that he may have wanted to set on fire, it did not appear that he had doused all of his clothing. There was some of his clothing that smelled like gasoline, but not all of it. So it’s really unknown at this point what his intention was."