Capitol standoff: Man who claimed to have bomb outside Library of Congress surrenders

WASHINGTON — A man, who drove onto the sidewalk Thursday morning outside the Library of Congress and claimed to have a bomb, has surrendered following an hours-long standoff with police, authorities said.

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The man, identified by U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger as 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry, drove a black pickup truck onto the sidewalk near First Street Southeast and Independence Avenue Southeast around 9:15 a.m., police said.

“The driver of the truck told the responding officer on the scene that he had a bomb and (the officer saw) what ... appeared to be a detonator in the man’s hand,” he said. “We immediately evacuated the nearby buildings.”

At a news conference around 2:25 p.m. Thursday, Manger confirmed that Roseberry had been taken into custody.

“He gave up and did not resist, and our folks were able to take him into custody without incident,” the police chief said, adding that, “As far as we could tell, it was just his decision to surrender at that point.”

Manger said police had no indications that Roseberry was working with other people, although he said the incident remains under investigation. It was not immediately clear what charges Roseberry would face.

Authorities earlier told The Associated Press that they were working to determine whether the alleged explosive device that Roseberry claimed to have was operable. Manger said officers saw “some things that were concerning” in the back of the truck Roseberry drove, though by Thursday afternoon he said, “At this point, we think that’s safe.”

Earlier, Manger told reporters that authorities were unaware of Roseberry’s possible motive.

“We’re trying to get as much information as we can to try to peacefully resolve this,” he said.

The police chief acknowledged Thursday that Roseberry livestreamed a video at some point during the incident, although he declined to answer questions about it. A video posted on Facebook for a page belonging to a man named “Ray Roseberry” appeared to show the suspect sitting in a truck Thursday morning while holding a canister that he claimed to be a bomb. An unidentified law enforcement official told CNN the video was authentic.

In the roughly 30-minute clip, Roseberry made several anti-government statements, The New York Times reported. Citing a law enforcement official, the newspaper reported the suspect was a resident of North Carolina.

Facebook has since removed the video and the man’s Facebook page.

Officers ordered people to evacuate the Cannon House Office Building amid the investigation, according to Aaron Fritschner, the communications director for Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. Police warned of a suspicious vehicle and ordered people to relocate to the Longworth House Office Building, he said.

Other nearby buildings, including the Thomas Jefferson Building, the James Madison Memorial Building and the Supreme Court, were also evacuated, according to Fritschner, CNN and The Washington Post. Most lawmakers were not in their offices Thursday, as Congress is not currently in session.

Other agencies, including the FBI, D.C Metropolitan Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said they were helping Capitol Police as the investigation continues.

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