The man who claimed to have bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol has surrendered to law enforcement, ending an hours-long standoff on Thursday.
The man, identified by law enforcement officials as Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, of North Carolina, crawled out of the vehicle and was being taken into custody shortly before 2:30 p.m.
He had pulled up outside the library earlier in the day and told police he had a bomb in his truck. An officer saw what appeared to be a detonator in the man’s hand.
The man had been negotiating with police during a standoff that lasted around five hours.
(AP) — A man sitting in a black pickup truck parked on the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress told police he had a bomb Thursday, triggering a standoff in the heart of the nation’s capital.
Officials evacuated a number of buildings around the Capitol and sent snipers to the area after officers saw the man holding what looked like a detonator inside the pickup, which had no license plates. Congress is in recess this week, but staffers were seen calmly walking out of the area at the direction of authorities.
The suspect had been identified as Floyd Ray Roseberry of Grover, North Carolina. Roseberry says there are 5 total bombs in DC that will blow up if he is shot.
“I’m here for a reason Joe Biden. I’m here for the American people. If you want to take me out – take me out. But when the patriots come, your ass is in trouble.”
Taken from DC bombing suspect Ray Roseberry’s Facebook: “The revolution is here, it’s today.” “I love this land. We got a few options here, Joe Biden. You shoot me, then two and half blocks are going with me. And then you’re talking about a revolution. The revolution is on.” He also indicated his healthcare was cut off
Taken from DC bombing suspect Ray Roseberry’s Facebook: “The revolution is here, it’s today.”
“I love this land. We got a few options here Joe. You shoot me, 2 and half blocks going with me. And then you’re talking about a revolution. The revolution is on.” pic.twitter.com/2gxVfpuOU3
— Spencer Neale (@spencer_neale) August 19, 2021
More from DC bombing suspect Ray Roseberry’s deleted Facebook: “Tell em to pull the trigger Joe. There’s four more sitting out here. Tell em to pull the trigger! I’m ready…”
“I hope all the American people don’t make a liar out of me.” Told his wife he was “going fishing”… pic.twitter.com/utaHM5DZxg
— Spencer Neale (@spencer_neale) August 19, 2021
Police negotiators were communicating with him as he wrote notes and showed them to authorities from inside the truck, according to three people who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. They were trying to determine whether it was an operable bomb, the officials said.
“My negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said. “We’re trying to get as much information as we can to find a way to peacefully resolve this.”
The episode began about 9:15 a.m. when the truck drove up the sidewalk outside the library, Manger said. The driver told the responding officer that he had a bomb, and was holding what the officer believed to be a detonator, The truck had no license plates.
The nation’s capital has been tense since the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
Fencing that had been installed around the Capitol grounds had been up for months but was taken down this summer. A day before thousands of pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol, pipe bombs were left at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee in Washington. No one has been arrested yet for placing the bombs.
The RNC, not far away from where the truck was parked Thursday, was also evacuated over the threat.
The area was blocked off by police cars and barricades, and multiple fire trucks and ambulances were staged nearby. Also responding were the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The White House said it was monitoring the situation and was being briefed by law enforcement.
