Man Livestreams Threat to Bomb Capitol Area: ‘I’m Ready to Die’

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A man is in Capitol Police custody after live streaming his threat to detonate a bomb outside the Library of Congress Thursday, causing the evacuation of several Congressional buildings and the Supreme Court. 

The North Carolina man, 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry, drove a black pickup onto the sidewalk outside of the Library of Congress on First Street SE Thursday and told a responding officer he had a bomb, and was holding a detonator, U.S. Capitol Police chief Thomas Manger told reporters Thursday. 

The U.S. Capitol Police initially tweeted that they were responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle, and later updated to describe it as an “active bomb threat investigation.”

After a five hour standoff with authorities, Roseberry surrendered to Capitol Police.

The suspect is from Cleveland County, North Carolina, according to North Carolina court records. 

Cleveland County Chief Deputy Philip Todd told VICE News that Cleveland County Sheriff’s deputies are currently at Roseberry’s home along with agents from the FBI, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and other federal agencies. The FBI is interviewing Roseberry’s wife, Todd said. 

The suspect appears to have live streamed himself outside the Capitol on Facebook for more than a half hour before the platform took down his page. In the videos, the man demands to speak with President Joe Biden. 

“The revolution is on. It’s here. I’m ready to die for the cause,” the man says in the video, claiming he has a toolbox full of ammonium nitrate, a highly-explosive chemical.

The man in the video describes himself as a “patriot,” repeatedly mentions a coming “revolution,” and references the U.S’s ongoing withdrawal from Afghanistan in his video, saying Afghan “lives are on your hands,” presumably directed at Biden. 

The man claims to have a propane tank and holding a detonator in his pickup truck, NBC News reported. He’s communicating with authorities using a whiteboard, according to multiple reports. 

Manger said authorities do not know his motives as of Thursday afternoon. 

“I know that some information has come out on, been live streamed...but my negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident,” Manger told reporters. “We’re trying to get as much information as we can to find a way to peacefully resolve this.”

Congress is currently on its August recess, meaning most members are not in the building, but Congressional staff were told to evacuate the Cannon House office building. The Supreme Court was also evacuated, as were two of the four Library of Congress buildings, Jefferson and Madison. 

Authorities have not found a propane tank in the bed of the truck but haven’t been able to check the inside of the vehicle, NBC News reported. 

“The Library’s buildings on Capitol Hill are closed until further notice,” the Library of Congress tweeted. “Staff and visitors are asked to avoid this area at this time.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday morning that she’d been briefed on the situation and that D.C. police were responding as well. 

The ATF said on Twitter that it was responding to the scene, the agency said in a tweet. Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell also said the FBI was responding as well.

The suspect appears to have live streamed himself outside the Capitol on Facebook for more than a half hour before the platform took down his page. In the videos, the man demands to speak with President Joe Biden. “I’m ready to die for the cause,” the man says in the video, claiming he has a toolbox full of ammonium nitrate, a highly-explosive chemical.

The man in the video describes himself as a “patriot,” repeatedly mentions a coming “revolution,” and references the U.S’s ongoing withdrawal from Afghanistan in his video, saying Afghan “lives are on your hands,” presumably directed at Biden. 

The man claims to have a propane tank and holding a detonator in his pickup truck, NBC News reported. He’s communicating with authorities using a whiteboard, according to multiple reports. 

Manger said authorities possibly have a name but do not know his motives. 

“I know that some information has come out on, been live streamed...but my negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident,” Manger told reporters. “We’re trying to get as much information as we can to find a way to peacefully resolve this.”

Congress is currently on its August recess, meaning most members are not in the building, but Congressional staff were told to evacuate the Cannon House office building. The Supreme Court was also evacuated, as were two of the four Library of Congress buildings, Jefferson and Madison. 

Authorities have not found a propane tank in the bed of the truck but haven’t been able to check the inside of the vehicle, NBC News reported. 

“The Library’s buildings on Capitol Hill are closed until further notice,” the Library of Congress tweeted. “Staff and visitors are asked to avoid this area at this time.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday morning that she’d been briefed on the situation and that D.C. police were responding as well. 

The ATF said on Twitter that it was responding to the scene, the agency said in a tweet. Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell also said the FBI was responding as well.