Man stopped with gun at RNC arrested in Chicago this week with Glock and ammo

A Wisconsin man caught with a gun near the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee was arrested in Chicago on Monday after police saw him parking near the United Center on the first day of the Democratic Convention and later found him with a firearm.

Despite landing on the government's radar at both nomination events this year, Cook County prosecutors declined to charge Juan Pablo Zaldua-Vargas with a crime.

Zaldua-Vargus, who has a concealed carry license in Wisconsin, is charged only with a minor weapons offense and has been released from custody pending a court date next month.

His arrest came after authorities spent months working on a comprehensive security plan aimed at containing and preventing threats to Congress in Chicago.

Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the party's presidential nominee, spoke to a crowd of political insiders at the United Center on the day of Zaldua-Vargas' arrest.

Concerns about the safety of political leaders have grown following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump last month. A police report shows that federal authorities worked with Chicago police in the Zaldua-Vargas case.

A Chicago police report shows that U.S. Capitol Police said they stopped Zaldua-Vargas in a truck during the Republican National Convention, which took place from July 15 to 18, just days after Trump was injured in an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania.

Zaldua-Vargas, 28, possessed a gun but was apparently released because he had a permit to carry the weapon.

Around noon on Monday, Chicago police received information that the same truck had been seen during a demonstration near the United Center, the report said. Officers set up surveillance around 1410 W. Fulton St., where the truck was parked, and waited for Zaldua-Vargas' return.

Zaldua-Vargas eventually returned with a woman and drove away, the report said. Police stopped him when he committed a traffic violation as he merged onto Interstate 90/94 at Ogden Avenue.

According to the report, he denied owning a gun or having a permit or carrying one in public. Throughout the interaction, he displayed “nervous behavior: sweating profusely, wide-eyed, and stumbling over officers' questions.”

After determining that he normally carries hunting rifles, officers searched his truck and found an unloaded Glock pistol, “several loaded magazines” and a police radio.

He told police he was a paramedic and was in town to “assist” the DNC, the report said.

Zaldua-Vargas and another woman previously described themselves as “[v]“Volunteer street doctors” supported the organization with a GoFundMe campaign that raised nearly $50,000 for medical supplies such as bandages and protective masks.

The campaign said it was planning a trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020. That shooting, which followed the police killing of George Floyd, sparked violence and unrest in the picturesque southeastern Wisconsin city.

Zaldua-Vargas was taken to the Area 3 police station at the corner of Belmont and Western Avenue, where the Cook County District Attorney's Office declined to file a felony charge, according to the report. He faces a charge of unlawful use of a weapon. His first court date has been set for Sept. 9.

Zaldua-Vargas did not respond to a request for comment. The public prosecutor's office did not respond either.