An Arkansas man is in police custody Tuesday after allegedly attempting to blow up a vehicle at the Pentagon.

According to the Justice Department, 19-year-old Fayetteville native Matthew Dmitri Richardson was approached by a patrolling Pentagon police officer after the officer watched Richardson light a piece of fabric on fire and then put it inside a vehicle's gas tank.

When questioned, Richardson reportedly said that he was going “blow this vehicle up [and] himself." The officer attempted to detain Richardson, but he fled on foot toward Virginia State Route 110 and on to Route 27, eventually jumping a fence into Arlington National Cemetery. He was later apprehended by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency Police Emergency Response Team in the vicinity of Arlington House.

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Court documents that were found on Richardson reveal that he was arrested just days before on two counts of "felony assault on a law enforcement officer in Arlington County."

The vehicle that Richardson is accused of trying to blow up belongs to an active-duty service member who has no relation to Richardson, separate court documents show.

Richardson was set to appear in federal court at 2 p.m. Tuesday. He is being charged with "maliciously attempting to damage and destroy by means of fire, a vehicle used in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce." A conviction of the crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison with a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Updated at 3:24 p.m.