A Florida man who police say had an AK-47 rifle in his car has been arrested outside a northern Virginia preschool after he told officers he was headed to CIA headquarters, police say.

Fairfax County Police said the man was charged with possessing a firearm at a school, a felony, after his arrest on Tuesday.

Police say officers were called to Dolley Madison Preschool in McLean, which is less than a kilometre from CIA headquarters, where they took the man into custody.

According to the preschool, the man asked to use the bathroom about 11am on Tuesday but was denied access to the building.

The man was unarmed when police responded but officers searched his vehicle and found the AK-47 as well as a handgun and extensive ammunition, police said.

He was arraigned on Wednesday at Fairfax County General District Court and is being held pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for July.

Online court records do not list a lawyer.