UPDATE – 2:21 P.M.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol surrendered to police on Thursday after a standoff that paralyzed a swath of Washington for more than five hours.
Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters that the man, identified as Floyd Ray Roseberry, parked his vehicle on a sidewalk outside the U.S. Library of Congress at about 9:15 a.m. EDT and told an officer who approached him that he had a bomb while holding what appeared to be a detonator.
Police shut down streets and evacuated nearby buildings as they negotiated with Roseberry.
“He gave up and did not resist and our folks were able to take him into custody without incident,” said Manger.
Police did not say whether he had any explosives.
A video livestreamed on Facebook showed Roseberry, a bald white man with a goatee, speaking inside a black truck parked on a sidewalk.
“The revolution’s on, it’s here,” he said in the video, while appearing to hold a large metal cannister on his lap. “I’m trying to get (U.S. President) Joe Biden on the phone.”
His ex-wife, Crystal Roseberry, told Reuters that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had threatened her with firearms in the past. She said she divorced him about eight years ago.
“He’s crazy. He pulled a gun on me and his sister, and shot at me numerous times,” said the woman.
Facebook deactivated the livestream and removed the man’s profile after about four hours.
Federal agents raided Roseberry’s home in Grover, North Carolina, during the standoff in the U.S. capital.
Neighbors said Roseberry would set off explosives in his yard and disrupt deer hunters by shooting his gun repeatedly.
“He didn’t want nobody killing no deer,” neighbor Wayne Davis told Reuters.
In Washington, the ordinarily crowded Capitol Hill area was relatively deserted, with the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate out of session.
Police blocked off roads surrounding the Capitol complex as fire and rescue trucks headed to the area. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was sending a bomb technician to support police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also responded.
Nearby buildings, including the U.S. Supreme Court, were evacuated.
High-security fencing was erected in the area after the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, but it was removed by mid-July.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert, Lawrence Hurley, Sarah N. Lynch, Mark Hosenball, Julio-Cesar Chavez and Elizabeth Culliford; Writing by David Morgan; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Chizu Nomiyama and Sonya Hepinstall)
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UPDATE 11:46 A.M.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Law enforcement officials were negotiating with a man who said he had a bomb in his pick-up truck near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, causing nearby buildings to be evacuated as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene about a mile from the White House.
The U.S. Capitol Police said they did not know the man’s motive but confirmed that he was livestreaming from the vehicle outside the Library of Congress, across the street from the Capitol.
Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters that the man parked his vehicle on a sidewalk and told an officer who approached him that he had a bomb while holding what appeared to be a detonator. Police do not know the man’s motive, he said.
“My negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident,” Manger said at a press conference.
A video livestreamed on Facebook appeared to show a man speaking inside a truck parked on a sidewalk outside of what looked like the Library of Congress.
“The revolution’s on, it’s here,” the man said. “I’m trying to get (U.S. President) Joe Biden on the phone.”
Police did not say whether the video was made by the suspect.
A U.S. law enforcement source said the presence of explosives had not been confirmed.
Several nearby buildings were evacuated, including the U.S. Supreme Court. People in the Madison office building were told to bar themselves in their offices. A nearby subway station was closed.
Police blocked off roads surrounding the Capitol complex as fire and rescue trucks headed to the area. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was sending a bomb technician to support police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also responded.
The ordinarily crowded Capitol Hill area was relatively deserted, with the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate out of session.
High-security fencing was erected in the area after the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, but it had been removed by mid-July.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert, Lawrence Hurley, Sarah N. Lynch, Mark Hosenball and Julio-Cesar ChavezWriting by David Morgan Editing by Andy Sullivan, Chizu Nomiyama and Sonya Hepinstall)
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UPDATE 10:51 A.M.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Law enforcement officials surrounded a man with possible explosives sitting in a vehicle near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, as nearby buildings were evacuated and emergency vehicles rushed to the scene about a mile from the White House.
“This is an active bomb threat investigation,” the U.S. Capitol Police said on Twitter.
The man was in a vehicle outside the Library of Congress, across the street from the Capitol, a U.S. law enforcement source said.
The law enforcement source said the presence of explosives had not been confirmed.
But people in Congress were notified that the vehicle’s occupant had said that he possessed a bomb and that authorities were crafting their responses with that threat in mind, an official told Reuters.
Several nearby buildings were evacuated, including the U.S. Supreme Court. People in the Madison office building were told to bar themselves in their offices. A nearby subway station was closed.
Police blocked off roads surrounding the Capitol complex as fire and rescue trucks headed to the area. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was sending a bomb technician to support police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also responded.
The ordinarily crowded Capitol Hill area was relatively deserted, with the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate out of session.
“The USCP is responding to a suspicious vehicle near the Library of Congress,” the Capitol Police wrote on Twitter. “Please stay away from this area.”
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert, Lawrence Hurley, Sarah N. Lynch, Mark Hosenball and Julio-Cesar ChavezWriting by David Morgan Editing by Andy Sullivan, Chizu Nomiyama and Sonya Hepinstall)
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Capitol Police said they were investigating a bomb threat on Thursday near the Library of Congress, which is across from the Capitol, as nearby buildings were evacuated and support vehicles rushed to the area.
“This is an active bomb threat investigation,” the Capitol Police said on Twitter.
Officials are investigating man in a vehicle outside the Library of Congress with possible explosives, a U.S. law enforcement source said.
Police blocked off roads surrounding the Capitol complex, as fire and rescue trucks headed to the scene. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was sending a bomb technician to support police.
The Capitol Police asked anyone working in the Cannon congressional offices to leave and relocate to the neighboring Longworth building, while they had those in the Madison building bar themselves in their offices. The Jefferson building, part of the Library of Congress, was also evacuated.
The House of Representatives and Senate are not currently in session.
“The USCP is responding to a suspicious vehicle near the Library of Congress,” the Capitol Police wrote on Twitter. “Please stay away from this area.”
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert, Sarah N. Lynch, Mark Hosenball and Julio-Cesar ChavezEditing by Andy Sullivan, Chizu Nomiyama and Sonya Hepinstall)
