Just hours after the worst mass shooting in American history took place inside a gay club in Orlando, Florida, a man whose car was filled with explosive material and weapons was arrested by police early Sunday, telling them he was on his way to the L.A. Pride parade in West Hollywood.

James Wesley Howell, 20, of Indiana was arrested in Santa Monica, where police found three rifles, several high-capacity magazines loaded with ammunition, and chemicals that could be used for improvised explosives, Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez said during a news conference.

• Related Story: 50 dead in Orlando nightclub shooting, worst mass shooting in US history

Howell was arrested after police received a call at 4:59 a.m. of a suspicious man who was knocking on doors and windows. Rodriquez said Howell had no connection to the area, but when they found Howell, they also found his car, loaded with weapons.

“Our officer immediately noticed that there was a rifle in the seat of the car, which led to a further investigation, at which point, we recovered additional firearms and high-capacity magazines,” Rodriquez said.

Police later said they found a 5-gallon bucket with chemicals capable of forming an improvised explosive device. A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department alert listed the chemical as tannerite. Assault rifles as well as camouflage clothing were also found, according to the alert.

“The suspect did make an initial statement that he was going to go to the Pride festival,” Rodriguez said. “Beyond that he did not make additional statements saying he was going to do anything further than that. We do not have any additional information as to what his intentions were.”

• Photos: Man en route to LA Pride arrested with rifles, explosive materials

A previous tweet issued by Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Saybrooks said Howell intended to harm many people at the gay pride event. Rodriquez called her tweet a “misstatement.”

According to Clark County, Indiana, court records, Howell had recently been convicted of intimidation in his home state in April and agreed to surrender his weapons.

The allegation was initially filed as a felony, along with a second count of pointing a firearm at another person, in October.

Under a plea agreement, Howell admitted the intimidation charge, and the charge of pointing a gun was dismissed, records show.

Howell was sentenced to one year in jail, but the jail term was suspended. He was placed on probation for at least one year and ordered to stay away from his victim.

“The defendant is to forfeit all weapons for all of probation period,” according to court records. It was unclear whether any weapons were ever surrendered or collected.

Howell’s white Acura sedan remained parked on the wrong side of 11th Street just south of Michigan Avenue with its doors open through Sunday afternoon. The sheriff’s bomb squad rendered the car safe later in the afternoon and the vehicle was towed from the neighborhood and the street reopened shortly after 3 p.m.

• Related Story: LA Pride participants refuse to stand down after Orlando gay nightclub shooting

Howell was arrested for possession of weapons and explosive materials, and his bail was set at $500,000.

One witness on the scene, Heriberto Gomez, told reporters he saw Howell exit his Acura sedan, run across the street and hide in the bushes about 3 a.m.

“He stood there on the sidewalk near the bushes,” Gomez said. “He seen me and we stared at each other for a long minute, and he got a little shooken that I was watching him.”

Santa Monica Mayor Tony Vazquez praised the work of his city’s police department.

“On behalf of the city, we’re disappointed to hear what happened in Orlando but also wanted to thank the neighbors who did come out and report this incident,” Vazquez said.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency is assisting the Santa Monica Police Department with the investigation.

But any relation to the deadly shooting in Orlando was unclear, law enforcement officials said throughout the day.

“Any possible nexus with this individual and the Pride event in West Hollywood is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” according to the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department, which was helping out in the investigation.

More than 2,000 miles away, the FBI was investigating the fatal shooting of 50 people inside an Orlando club called Pulse. Another 53 people were reportedly injured. The gunman was identified as Omar Saddiqui Mateen, 29.

• Photos: LA Pride parade rolls on despite mass shooting in Orlando

Mateen had reportedly called 911 to pledge allegiance to ISIS, before he headed for the nightclub. He was killed in a gunfight with police.

Because of that shooting, security remained high around Sunday’s festival in West Hollywood, though there were no specific or credible threats received by law enforcement, according to a statement by the Sheriff’s Department.

The parade, part of a two-day annual festival in West Hollywood where 400,000 people were expected, went on as scheduled.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told the crowd before the start of the parade that while the festival was going forward, it was a difficult time. He said nothing should stop people from all races and backgrounds from celebrating together.

“We did not want to be here under these circumstances,” Garcetti said. “We’re here as Angelenos, as the LGBTQ community and allies, to say as Americans we will not shrink away, we will not be sullen in our homes, we will not go back in the closets. We are here to march, to celebrate and to mourn.”

Howell was set to be arraigned Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court’s Airport Courthouse.