WASHINGTON D.C. — Police are responding Thursday afternoon to an ongoing bomb threat on Capitol Hill, where a man in a pickup truck claims the vehicle will detonate if law enforcement shoots through his windows. Congress is on recess, although buildings in and around the Capitol complex have been evacuated.
According to Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger, the man, identified as Ray Roseberry, drove onto the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress around 9:15 a.m., telling an officer he had a bomb. The officer believed Roseberry to be holding a detonator.
In a press conference around 12:00 p.m. ET, Manger said “negotiations [were] ongoing.” According to reports, Roseberry was communicating with police by writing notes and shouting from the truck.
Federalist Editor Christopher Bedford reported from the scene, posting pictures and videos from outside the police perimeter. “Police down the line seem calm,” Bedford wrote.
RNC evacuated along with local buildings, offices. It's a slow, calm trickle of cars down here. Police down the line seem calm but the man parked on the sidewalk in front of the Neptune fountain at Library of Congress says he has a bomb in his pickup. He's streaming on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/dEMvjRZmgM
— Christopher Bedford (@CBedfordDC) August 19, 2021
By 2 p.m., churches on 1st Street, apartment buildings in the area, and the Capitol South Metro were locked down or evacuated.
The United Methodist building on 1st Street was told to stay locked down and is now evacuated. Local apartment buildings evacuated. Residents not allowed in. Capitol South Metro shutdown. pic.twitter.com/puALkoNSfO
— Christopher Bedford (@CBedfordDC) August 19, 2021
Roseberry appeared to be posting long live-streams to Facebook as the morning unfolded. A Facebook profile under the man’s name included several of these streams throughout the morning, matching the description of the event and revealing potential motivations. The profile was later removed by Facebook.
“If you wanna shoot me, and take the chance of blowing up two and a half city blocks … cause that toolbox is full [of] ammonium nitrate,” Roseberry said in one of the videos.
In the streams, Roseberry spoke directly to President Joe Biden, repeatedly urging him not to shoot through the glass of the truck because it would detonate the explosion, which he also claimed he had no control over. “The revolution’s on,” he said at one point, later claiming the revolution would begin if law enforcement detonated the explosion by shooting at the truck.
Roseberry’s streams revealed an unclear political motivation, with the man saying at one point he “loved” Nancy Pelosi. He also repeatedly criticized Democrats. “I don’t care if Donald Trump ever becomes President again. It doesn’t matter to me,” Roseberry argued, saying at another point, “Black, white, lesbian, LGBT, it don’t matter, we’re Americans.”
This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.
Source: The Federalist
