Police arrested a retired New York cop who they say had a fake badge, body armor, and high capacity magazines outside the Capitol building

• A retired New York cop was arrested on Friday outside of the US Capitol building.
• Capitol police say they found the man with a fake badge, a BB gun, body armor, and high-capacity magazines.

The US Capitol Police arrested a retired New York City police officer who had a fake badge, body gear, and high-capacity magazines in his car near the Capitol building, the agency announced in a statement on Friday.

The 53-year-old, identified as Jerome Felipe from Flint, Michigan, was parked near the west side of the Capitol building early Friday morning before 5 a.m., according to the report.

According to the DC law enforcement agency, a Capitol Police officer started talking to Felipe after he had parked his 2017 Dodge Charger near Peace Circle, on the West side of the Capitol.

Felipe then showed officers a fake badge that had "Department of the INTERPOL" printed on it and claimed he was a criminal investigator with the agency, Capitol Police said.

Authorities say Felipe then gave the officers permission to search his car where the officers discovered a BB gun, two ballistic vests, several high capacity magazines, and other ammunition.

No real guns were found, Capitol Police said.

Felipe is now facing charges for unlawful possession of high capacity magazines and unregistered ammo.

Capitol Police said investigators were still working to determine the reason Felipe was parked near the Capitol building.

It was not immediately clear whether Felipe had retained a lawyer. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed to Insider that Felipe retired in 2018.

"We are fully cooperating with the US Capitol Police investigation," the spokesperson said.

Capitol Police said investigators are looking into why Felipe was parked near the Capitol.

The news comes as Congress has faced an increase in threats in recent years, putting Capitol Police officers on high alert.

Last year, ahead of President Joe Biden's inauguration, a Virginia man was arrested near the Capitol for carrying a pistol without a license and ammo.

Days earlier, another armed Virginia man with more than 500 rounds of ammo was arrested attempting to drive through a US Capitol checkpoint.