Man Claiming to Have Bomb Near Library of Congress Surrenders to Police
A North Carolina man claiming to have a bomb near the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. has surrendered to law enforcement.
Floyd Ray Roseberry drove his black pick-up truck onto a sidewalk near the Library of Congress around 9:15 a.m. on Thursday morning and told police that he had a bomb. One officer said that Roseberry appeared to be holding an object that looked like a detonator.
That kicked off hours of negotiations, during which Roseberry was live streaming on Facebook as he sat in his truck. Meanwhile, workers evacuated from two nearby office buildings for the Library of Congress as well as the Cannon House Office Building and the Supreme Court. Technicians from the F.B.I. and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive also responded to the scene, as did Metropolitan Police.
“The revolution is on. It’s here… I’m ready to die for the cause,” Roseberry told viewers on Facebook. He also said on the stream that he wanted President Joe Biden to call him.
Addressing Biden, Roseberry said, “It’s your call. You’ve got an option. You can shoot me, kill me right here and blow up two-and-a-half city blocks… I ain’t here to hurt nobody. If I was, I wouldn’t have told them to tell people to leave. I would have gunned this motherfucker and rode it right up in your front door.”
After approximately 90 minutes of streaming, Facebook deactivated Roseberry’s live stream and his Facebook profile. “Not only deactivated the live stream, but we also removed his profile from Facebook and are continuing to investigate,” Andy Stone, director of policy communications at Facebook, said on Twitter.
NEW: “The revolution is on. It’s here… I’m ready to die for the cause.”
Here’s video from the man who said he’s got a bomb outside the Capitol.
Follow @huffpost and @sara_bee for more as the situation develops. pic.twitter.com/aRx1hES7Vl
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 19, 2021
Breaking: VIDEO The suspect, Ray Roseberry, has been live streaming the bomb threat at the Library of Congress on Facebook.
He is demanding to talk to Joe Biden on the phone. pic.twitter.com/A0iZ4XDZjM
— Chris Weidner 🏳️🌈 (@CWNewser) August 19, 2021
Roseberry surrendered in the afternoon following lengthy negotiations with law enforcement, who gave him a dry-erase board to communicate after he refused a phone delivered by a robot, police said.
“He got out of the vehicle and surrendered and the tactical units that were close by took him into custody without incident,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told reporters at a news conference, adding, “He gave up and did not resist.”
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger says "Floyd Roy Rosenberry from Grover, NC was taken into custody without incident…he got out of the vehicle and surrendered…we don't know if there are any explosives in the vehicle. It's still an active scene." https://t.co/84EE5sZyHH pic.twitter.com/Kacz1Rjqyq
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 19, 2021
Manger said police do not yet know if there are explosives in Roseberry’s vehicle. The chief added that Roseberry’s motives were still unclear.
Biden has not yet commented on the event, but an administration official told CNN that “the White House is receiving regular updates from law enforcement.”
This is a developing news story and will continue to be updated.