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The Utah man who placed a wreath-wrapped package containing an unloaded assault rifle in the Capitol Rotunda said Saturday that he did not leave the package in protest, as police have previously said.
"It was meant to be a gesture," Cameron Crimefighter told The Tribune. "Not a protest."
Included in the package, he said, were pictures drawn by his children and a letter with a list of names of victims killed in recent mass shootings.
The 31-year-old North Logan man stressed Saturday that the gun he placed in the state building Thursday had all of the functioning parts removed.
He said he wrote on painter's tape that the gun was "a non-functioning rifle," and said the wreath placed over the top was made of olive branches, and served as a "symbol of peace."
Crimefighter would not answer questions about the subsequent evacuation and lockdown of the Capitol, saying he only contacted the newspaper to clarify that the gun placed in the Rotunda was not operable and that his actions were not a protest.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said Friday that Crimefighter, shown on security camera footage kneeling and placing the white, 5-foot coffin-shaped package in the center of the Rotunda at 3:24 p.m. Thursday, contacted investigators late Thursday night after seeing his image broadcast on television news and social media.
UHP visited his home late Thursday, but did not arrest him. Royce said Friday that investigators are following up on leads and reviewing evidence before evaluating whether Crimefighter broke any laws or will face charges.
Surveillance video captured Crimefighter entering the Capitol from its main south doors at 3:24 p.m., and walking to the Rotunda with a wrapped package in his arms.
At the center of the circle, Crimefighter drops to his knee and lays the package on the floor, pauses for a moment and then leaves through the same doors.
UHP personnel monitoring Capitol surveillance video in real time saw the man when he reached the Rotunda and called for troopers, who arrived within about 40 seconds.
Officers then evacuated the building and called for help from the Salt Lake City Police Department's bomb squad.
Bomb technicians determined the package was "nonexplosive" by about 6 p.m.
Court records from Oregon show Crimefighter was born Cameron Crebar, but he and his wife legally changed their surnames in that state in 2009.
A search of Utah court records shows no criminal history for Crimefighter. Logan police officials said Friday that Crimefighter has had no police contact with any agency in Cache Valley in the few years that he has lived in North Logan.