Woman tried to get into CIA headquarters with loaded gun

A woman drove to the entrance of the CIA headquarters with a loaded gun. Photo / AP

A woman drove to the entrance of the CIA headquarters with a loaded gun, a passport and US$100,000 in cash, according to law enforcement.

Beth Huth had her first appearance in Alexandria, Virginia, federal court today afternoon on a charge of possessing a weapon on an agency installation. A judge ruled she should be held in custody.

According to an affidavit filed by an officer with the CIA's protective service, Huth pulled up to the main entrance of the McLean, Virginia, compound in a white Kia Soul on Saturday NZT.

Asked for a badge that would allow her onto the compound, Huth instead produced a handwritten note. She nodded that she could speak, according to the affidavit, but communicated only with gestures and notes.

When asked if she had anything illegal in the car, she nodded and reached for a black handbag on her passenger seat, Officer Michael Szczepanik wrote.

Szczepanik said he told her to stop and leave her hands where he could see them, then to write what she was searching for.

She wrote "GUN." Szczepanik wrote that he searched the handbag and found a loaded 9mm pistol with four rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one round in the chamber, along with a second magazine with five rounds of ammunition.

He also found directions from Ohio to "Langley, McLean, Virginia."

She apparently travelled from Ohio, where she has family, to the CIA headquarters, according to court documents. Huth has a Virginia driver's license, and public records show she previously lived in the Richmond area.

In court today, the US Attorney's Office says prosecutors argued Huth suffers from mental health issues and is both a danger and a flight risk. She was wearing a wig when she drove up to the CIA, according to prosecutors, and she had a passport and US$100,000 in cash on her.

They said she had also previously fled the country when facing criminal charges that were left unspecified. She does have an outstanding warrant from March of 2016 for domestic violence, issued in Henrico County.

Huth did not contest detention, and a public defender representing her declined to comment on the case. A status conference is set for May 1.