L.A. Mayor: Heavily Armed Man Arrested in Santa Monica Was Heading to Gay Pride Parade

CBS News reports that a man arrested overnight in Santa Monica claimed he was in town for today's L.A. Gay Pride Parade at the time he was arrested with a cache of weapons.

Twenty-year-old James Howell, an Indiana resident, has reportedly admitted to police that he sought to "harm" the parade.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a press conference on Sunday, "An individual here, we believe completely unrelated [to the mass shooting in Orlando], who said he was coming to Pride, who was heavily armed... was apprehended by Santa Monica police department officials in the area last night."

The FBI does not believe the man was acting in conjunction with anyone else.

Mayor Garcetti gave an upbeat speech ahead of the parade, in which he said, "This march goes on, we go on, we continue to love — and in the face of hate, hold somebody today."

Concurring with Mayor Garcetti's message that no other violence was thought to be planned, FBI Special Agent Deirdre Fike said, "At this point, there's no known credible threat here in the Los Angeles area."

Though there was a pall cast over L.A. Pride, the event still drew many thousands. Gay icon Ariana Grande tweeted her support: