The man who paralyzed the news this morning while he sat outside the Library of Congress in a pickup truck threatening to blow it all to kingdom come didn’t actually have a bomb in his truck:
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 (1315 GMT) 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, 49.
“He gave up and did not resist and our folks were able to take him into custody without incident,” Manger said.
Police said they found possible bomb-making materials, but no bomb, in the truck. Two law enforcement sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it appeared Roseberry had acted alone.
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,” Roseberry said in the video, while appearing to hold a large metal cannister on his lap. “I’m ready to die for the cause.”
“Diagnosed with schizophrenia”
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.
Police said they did not know his motive.
Federal agents raided his home in Grover, North Carolina, during the standoff in the U.S. capital.
Neighbors described Roseberry as a Republican who was known to occasionally wear a red “MAGA” hat to show his support for former President Donald Trump. He also criticized Democrats on social media.
They said Roseberry would set off explosives in his yard and disrupt deer hunters by shooting his gun repeatedly.
Roseberry clearly sounds like a mental case based on everything we now know and I’m very glad he didn’t have an actual bomb in his truck. It goes without saying that he’ll serve quite a bit of time for his actions, but I hope he’s able to get the help he needs.
Also regarding his schizophrenia diagnosis, the media is hardest hit on that one. Because you know they wanted a Trump support in his right mind to be the villain here…