Bell deputies arrest man who was previously apprehended at Pentagon

Published 10:17 pm Monday, August 26, 2019

The Bell County Sheriff’s Department arrested the man who was apprehended at the Pentagon only weeks ago.

Charles Westley Lawson, 48, of Bell County, was arrested on Beech Tree Lane after deputies were dispatched to an intoxicated man driving his truck through the yard and spinning the tires.

He is charged with second-degree disorderly conduct and first-degree operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs and alcohol (under aggravated circumstances).

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When deputies Adam Southern and Max Graves arrived, they found Lawson circling a gold Chevrolet truck with his hands in the air yelling that he was “protesting ingenuity, integrity of effort,” and that he was “raising hell for the Liberty Bell.” The Chevrolet truck had been crashed into a ditch in the front yard.

Deputy Southern gave Lawson verbal commands to comply, and he was placed under arrest.

According to a press release from the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, Southern states that Lawson had a very strong odor of alcohol on his breath and stated that he “had drank seven, 12-ounce 8% alcohol cans” and that he would happily “share all of his knowledge with the enthused if it pertained to liberty business or the dreams of happiness.”

Through a search, deputies discovered that Lawson had punched out the front window of the home causing injuries to his arm. Due to the circumstances and Lawson’s level of intoxication, standard field sobriety tests were unable to be performed.

Lawson was treated on scene for his injury by Bell County EMS and then transported to the Bell County Detention Center.

It was only weeks ago that Lawson made national and even international headlines when he drove from Kentucky to the Pentagon and approached two officers in the parking lot telling them he was there for “liberty business.”

Following his arrest at the Pentagon, court documents read that officers asked Lawson if he had weapons on him or in his truck, he told them he had a “loaded 12-gauge shotgun in his vehicle.” After he was placed in handcuffs, officers searched the truck and discovered the shotgun shells, an 18-inch machete, a “green leafy substance wrapped in white paper,” a yellow pocket knife, a red Swiss army knife and an open bottle of whiskey.

Lawson was reportedly taken to Arlington County Department of Human Services where he agreed to a psychiatric evaluation and afterward a Falls Church Virginia treatment center.

A background check found that Lawson could not legally have a gun because he was involuntarily hospitalized for mental illness in February of this year. In a petition for his commitment, Lawson’s wife stated that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.