A man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress surrendered to police Thursday after hours of negotiations and evacuations of several government buildings in the area.
The man surrendered peacefully, Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Capitol Police said at a news conference.
“As far as we can tell, it was just his decision to surrender,” he said. Manger identified the man as Floyd Ray Roseberry and said it appeared that he acted alone.
Roseberry, 49, drove a black pickup onto the sidewalk of the Library of Congress about 9:15 Thursday morning, and officers then responded to a disturbance call, Manger said.
When the police arrived, Roseberry said he had a bomb, and one of the officers observed what appeared to be a detonator in his hand, Manger said. It was unclear whether the truck actually contained any explosives.
The police spent hours negotiating with Roseberry, Manger said. At one point, they used a robot to bring a telephone to Roseberry, but he declined to use it.
“We don’t know what his motives are at this time,” Manger said earlier Thursday. He confirmed that some of the man’s remarks had been streamed live on social media.
Manger later told reporters that officers had observed items on Roseberry’s truck that concerned them, including a propane gas container. He said technicians would have to examine the contents of the truck to determine whether there were any explosives.
“We still have to search the vehicle and render the vehicle safe,” Manger said.
He said charges against Roseberry would be determined with the U.S. attorney’s office.
Roseberry, a resident of Grover, North Carolina, had been making anti-government statements, according to a law enforcement official. Manger said the police had spoken with members of Roseberry’s family.
Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Facebook, confirmed that the company had taken down the man’s profile from the site and Instagram and removed a post with a video that had been broadcast from the truck. The company said it would also remove any posts supporting or praising the man.
In the rambling video, he addresses President Joe Biden, demanding to speak with him or a representative, and sometimes shows a metal object in his lap. He describes himself as “a patriot” and expresses grievances with Democrats. He repeatedly says he does not want to die or hurt anyone but warns that the device will explode if the police fired at him, although he offered no evidence to support that.
In alerts to Capitol Hill staff members Thursday morning, police urged some people to move inside offices, lock doors and stay away from windows, and told others to evacuate to designated assembly areas.
The Metropolitan Police Department assisted “with the report of an active bomb threat involving a suspicious vehicle,” and with evacuating the area, according to spokesperson Alaina Gertz.
With lawmakers scattered across the country for a scheduled August recess, most congressional staff were not on Capitol Hill when much of the complex went into lockdown. Many of the evacuated employees work for the library and included Architect of the Capitol staff, building employees and workers helping with construction. And while thousands of people typically work in each office building, the pandemic has limited how many people were inside.
“Today, once again, the Capitol Police, FBI and other law enforcement dealt with a potential threat to the Capitol Hill community,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement. “The immense gratitude of the Congress is with all law enforcement officers who today and all days sacrifice to keep the Capitol Complex and those within it safe.”
The Supreme Court building was evacuated shortly after 10 a.m., said Patricia McCabe, a spokesperson. Local police officers also asked nearby residents to evacuate the area.
As police investigated, they shut down several nearby streets around the 100 block of First Street SE. Technicians from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the officers at the scene.
Just before 11 a.m., dozens of people flooded out of the Madison building, having been told by officers inside to leave the building.
“Everybody head south now,” a Capitol Police officer said as other officers ushered construction workers away from work in the road and asked diners outside a cafe to leave their tables.
Ultimately, much of the crowd, some carrying laptops and tangled handfuls of charging cords and headphones, ended up in a park near the building, calling family members and figuring out how to get home.
The threat unsettled visitors and employees at the Capitol just over seven months after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Hill on Jan. 6, in a violent attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the presidential election.
While the Capitol has been returning to normal, including the recent removal of fences surrounding the building, many people working in the complex continue to grapple with lingering trauma from both the Jan. 6 riot and the death of a Capitol Hill officer in early April.
Amid heightened security precautions, steps to investigate suspicious packages have become more rigorous for staff on the Hill. On Thursday, police sharpshooters were visible from the Capitol building, focused on the pickup by the Library of Congress.
Employees in nearby office buildings were notified of the possible threat through alerts before officials used the building intercom system to instruct people to leave the building.
Once on the street, employees were told to go home or head away from the complex, although some could not reach their cars, and the nearest Metro stop appeared closed.
“They’re just being cautious — they don’t want to take chances,” said Paul Hines, a building services employee evacuated from the Madison building. Hines, livestreaming a news report on his phone, had left his phone charger, his lunch and most of his belongings inside.
“Wasn’t expecting this,” he added. “I was about to eat my lunch.”
