‘Active Bomb Threat’ on Capitol Hill Ends in Surrender

August 19, 2021 by Dan McCue
‘Active Bomb Threat’ on Capitol Hill Ends in Surrender
The Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. (Photo by Dan McCue)

WASHINGTON — A man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress surrendered to the police Thursday afternoon, after hours of negotiations and evacuations of several government buildings in the area.

The man, identified as Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, of Grover, North Carolina, surrendered peacefully, according to Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Capitol Police.

The incident began at about 9:15 a.m. Thursday morning, when Roseberry drove a black pickup onto the sidewalk in front of the library’s Court of Neptune fountain.

When a police officer, responding to a disturbance call, arrived at the scene, Roseberry said he had a bomb in the truck and one of the officers observed what appeared to be a detonator in his hand, Manger said.

The police then spent hours negotiating with the man, he said. It appears his claim of being armed with explosives was a hoax.

The Capitol complex was on lockdown for much of the day. Manger said the ongoing investigation would likely last many hours longer.

“We don’t know what his motives are at this time,” the chief said.

There was no immediate word on what charges Roseberry will face.

The five-hour long standoff made for a tense day at the Capitol Complex and in the surrounding neighborhoods.

For much of the morning, all anyone knew about what was transpring was contained in a tweet from the Capitol Police, who asked people to stay away from the area and said, “This is an ongoing investigation. We are monitoring this situation closely and will update this account as we can get information we can release.”

Law enforcement officials then said investigators on the scene were working to determine whether the device was an operable explosive and whether the man in the truck was holding a detonator.

In the meantime, negotiators at the scene first tried to communicate with Roseberry using a white board. They then used a robot to deliver a phone to the pickup truck, but Roseberry declined to use it. Eventually another phone was delivered to him.

As all this unfolded, Roseberry himself live streamed some of the drama via Facebook live, and both the library and nearby House Cannon Office Building were evacuated, with staffers told to remain calm and take underground tunnels to safety.

Throughout the negotiations, the area around the Capitol and Library of Congress was blocked off by police cars, heavy trucks and barricades.

Members of the National Capital Response Squad from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and personnel from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the scene.

One positive note: Congress is on break this week.

The incident comes months after a pipe bomb was left at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee in Washington one day before thousands of pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in January.

A+
a-
  • bomb threat
  • Capitol Hill
  • Library of Congress
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Law Enforcement

    July 1, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    FBI to Stay in Downtown DC

    WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has selected the site of its new headquarters and the big news is,... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has selected the site of its new headquarters and the big news is, it’s literally just down the street from its current building. On Tuesday, the agency and the General Services Administration announced the FBI is headed up Pennsylvania... Read More

    Appeals Court Lets Trump Keep Control of National Guard Troops Deployed to Los Angeles

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to keep control of National Guard troops... Read More

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to keep control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids. The decision halts a ruling from a lower court judge who found Trump acted illegally when... Read More

    June 16, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Minnesota Man Charged in Assassination of State Lawmaker 

    BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — The man suspected of carrying out the shooting spree Saturday morning that left one Minnesota lawmaker... Read More

    BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — The man suspected of carrying out the shooting spree Saturday morning that left one Minnesota lawmaker dead and another gravely wounded has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder. Vance Boelter was arrested late... Read More

    June 13, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Police Officers Sue to Force Memorial for Jan. 6 Defenders of the Capitol

    WASHINGTON — Two police officers who tried to hold back rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington, D.C.,... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Two police officers who tried to hold back rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking a court order requiring that a plaque be hung in the Capitol honoring police who protected lawmakers and their staff. The... Read More

    June 12, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Senator Pushed, Cuffed, Forced to Floor During Noem Presser in Los Angeles

    WASHINGTON — Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, before being cuffed and ultimately forced to the ground as he tried to speak on the immigration raids that have led to protests across... Read More

    Protests Intensify in Los Angeles After Trump Deploys Hundreds of National Guard Troops

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response... Read More

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top