Man arrested near White House for making ‘finger gun’ gesture at National Guard
The whole thing hinges on a gesture that could mean a dozen different things depending on who's watching and where. A "finger gun" aimed at a van full of National Guard members in the shadow of the White House is going to read differently than the same motion made at a friend across a parking lot. Context is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, and the arrest affidavit has to convince a judge that this particular context crossed a line.
Clark was released after a few days. That suggests the case was weaker than the initial arrest implied. Security personnel near the White House have to take threats seriously, and I don't envy anyone making that call in real time. But when someone is arrested and then released without charges sticking, it's fair to ask whether the bar for detention was set too low.
I'd want to know more about what the National Guard member observed, whether Clark had any prior interactions, and what the release conditions were. There's a real tension between protecting the people who protect the president and letting a bad joke or a nervous habit land someone in handcuffs. This case doesn't resolve that tension, but it does give us a concrete example to argue about.