Man behind 'active bomb threat' on Capitol Hill surrenders to police

Caroline Downey
National Review
Thu, 19 Aug 2021 02:30 UTC

© Facebook/AP/Patrick Semansky

Floyd Ray Roseberry • Capitol Police

The man who claimed to be in possession of an explosive device by the Capitol Hill complex has surrendered to law enforcement after hours of negotiation.
The Associated Press confirmed the update Thursday afternoon.

Police rushed into emergency response when a man sitting in a pickup truck without a license plate outside the Library of Congress informed them that he had a bomb, sources familiar with the matter told AP. Washington, D.C., police had been investigating the "active bomb threat" and corresponding with the suspect to reach a "resolution" and deescalate the situation, Capitol Police chief Tom Manger said at a news conference Thursday.

The man has since been identified as Floyd Ray Roseberry, a 49-year-old white male from North Carolina, authorities confirmed.

Investigators on the scene had tried to ascertain whether the device in question was an operable explosive and whether the suspect was wielding a detonator. The man exchanged notes with the police from the inside of the truck to communicate, three anonymous sources told AP.

Roseberry, who was taken into police custody around 2:30 p.m., was reportedly making "anti-government statements," NBC News justice correspondent Pete Williams reported.

Manger said earlier that Roseberry had been broadcasting himself on a livestream to share his thoughts. The man posted a video on Facebook depicting him holding a package that he admitted to be a bomb. He reportedly references a "revolution" and expressed discontent with recent events in Afghanistan, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Roseberry's wife reportedly told NBC Washington assignment editor Tom Lynch that her husband had left North Carolina Wednesday for a "fishing trip." He was upset by the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election and cast a ballot for the first time in his life for former President Trump, she added.

The wife also confided in Lynch in a phone conversation that her spouse had struggled with mental-health issues and had recently changed to a new medication, which the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office and FBI agents reportedly found at the Roseberry residence in North Carolina.

The FBI said in a statement obtained by CNN that it had deployed its Washington field office's National Capital Response Squad to address the threat. Police also reportedly sent snipers to the area.

"The USCP is responding to a suspicious vehicle near the Library of Congress," the Capitol Police tweeted before 10 a.m. "Please stay away from this area ... This is an active bomb threat investigation," the department said.

The building that was potentially at risk is situated near the Capitol and the Supreme Court. Staffers working in the Jefferson and Madison Library of Congress buildings as well as the Cannon House building received alerts ordering them to evacuate due to the incident, CNN reported. U.S. Capitol Police also evacuated the Supreme Court, where tourists are not allowed to visit now because of the pandemic, a spokesperson for the court told CNN. The RNC, which is close to the truck's location, was also vacated as a precaution, AP said.

Congress is currently in recess for the summer and most legislators are not in their offices this week. The White House said it was monitoring the situation and that law enforcement would be updating them on the event.

Comment: UPDATE 20/8/2021 More details from the arrest of Mr. Roseberry:

Capitol Police didn't find a bomb in the truck, "but possible bomb making materials were collected from the truck," according to a news release by the agency.

In comments aimed at President Joe Biden, Roseberry says:

"I'm all ready to die for the cause. And brother, if you could do anything to save one life, one life, you said you'd do it. Well, you got a chance. I want to go home. I want to go home and see my wife. We're living in a free country, Joe. The choice is yours. If you want to shoot me and take the chance of blowing up two-and-a-half city blocks, 'cause that tool box is full, ammonium nitrate is full. I don't want to die, Joe. I want to go home, just like the people of Afghanistan want to go home. All them dead people are on your hands, too."

Roseberry had recently lost members of his family, including his mother, Manger said.

"There were other issues that he was dealing with," Manger said, citing conversations with Roseberry's family.
"Right now, we have no indication that he was acting with anyone else," Manger said.

Roseberry also was known as Bubba Roseberry, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety. He was convicted in February 1989 of larceny and operating a vehicle without a license — both misdemeanors — and received probation and a suspended sentence. Public records also show multiple criminal offenses in Roseberry's past, but none since 2010. Roseberry had a "limited" arrest history in Cleveland County, Sheriff Alan Norman said during a news conference in Grover.

Roseberry was listed as an assistant supervisor at a company called Ithaca Industries Inc. Ithaca manufactured and sold apparel, according to a records search by the (Raleigh) News & Observer. However the company has not filed an annual report with the N.C. Secretary of State since 2001.

Roseberry communicated with police by holding up hand-written signs through the front driver's side window, Capitol Police said. Officers brought him a phone "in hopes of trying to continue the dialogue," but Roseberry left the truck and officers took him into custody, according to the police statement.