Attorney General Bill Barr publicly asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she brought handcuffs to arrest him at an event at the Capitol on Wednesday.

'Madam Speaker, did you bring your handcuffs?' Barr asked Pelosi loudly after shaking her hand, according to an ABC News reporter.

The reporter said that sources confirmed Pelosi smiled and indicated that the House Sergeant at Arms was present at the event and would be able to make an arrest if necessary.

The Sergeant at Arms is elected by members of the House of Representatives, and serves as chief law enforcement and protocol officer. The current Sergeant at Arms is Paul Irving, who has served since 2012.

The interaction between Pelosi and the attorney general occurred at the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service, which took place on Capitol Hill. The annual event honors law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.

Attorney General Bill Barr publicly asked Nancy Pelosi at the annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service on Capitol Hill Wednesday, 'Madam Speaker, did you bring your handcuffs?'

Memorial moment: Families of fallen police officers were saluted by other members of law enforcement as they arrived for the service

Pelosi shakes hands with President Donald Trump at the event Wednesday. On May 2 she said Barr committed a crime by misleading Congress in his testimony

Pelosi accused Barr earlier this month of committing a crime by misleading Congress in his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on April 9 and Senate Judiciary Committee on May 1.

'Attorney General Barr's decision to mislead the public in his testimony to Congress was not a technicality — it was a crime,' Pelosi tweeted on May 2.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller completed his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election in March, and handed it over to Barr on March 28.

That last weekend of the month, Barr released a four-page summary of the 448-page report, where he said the special counsel found no evidence of collusion between Trump and the Kremlin or obstruction of justice on the president's part.

In April, Barr released a redacted-version of the report where 10 per cent was blacked out for security purposes and other reasons.

Democrats say that 10 'episodes' Mueller outlined in the report prove obstruction and are grounds for impeachment proceedings against the president.

Gathering place: Law enforcement officers and their families gather for the annual memorial service for fallen personnel

Barr also released a 4-page summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report where the attorney general said there were no findings in the report of Trump colluding with Russia or obstructing the investigation

Mueller also indicated that he felt Barr's summary of the report 'did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this Office's work and conclusions.'

Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have subpoenaed Barr to give them an untouched version of the report, complete with grand jury testimony. Barr refused to comply with the subpoena and Democrats are moving forward with holding him in contempt of Congress.

However, under federal law, if Barr were to turn over information that was discussed before a grand jury, he could be held in contempt of court.

Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said he would continue to negotiate with Barr to get him to give Congress an unredacted copy of the Mueller report.

Barr was supposed to again appear before the House Judiciary Committee a few days after testifying in the Senate earlier this month, but said a day before that he would not be showing up, objecting to the committee's request that lawyers as well as lawmakers be allowed to question the attorney general.