Bomb claim leads to arrest near Capitol

WASHINGTON — A North Carolina man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup near the U.S. Capitol surrendered to law enforcement after an hourslong standoff Thursday that prompted a large police response and the evacuation of nearby government buildings.

Police said they did not find a bomb in the vehicle but possible bomb-making materials were collected from it. Authorities searched the truck in an effort to understand what led the suspect, identified as 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry, to drive onto the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress, make bomb threats to officers and profess a litany of anti-government grievances as part of a bizarre episode that he livestreamed for a Facebook audience.

The standoff was resolved peacefully after roughly five hours of negotiations, ending when Roseberry crawled out of the truck and was taken into police custody.

Authorities who spent hours negotiating with Roseberry — first using a dry erase board and then bringing him a telephone that he refused to use — were digging into his background Thursday afternoon. They did not reveal any details about a motive, and no charges were immediately announced.

As police negotiated, video surfaced of Roseberry on Facebook Live inside the truck, which was stuffed with coins and boxes. He threatened explosions, expressed hostility toward President Joe Biden, profanely warned of a “revolution” and laid bare a series of grievances related to U.S. positions on Afghanistan, health care and the military

Investigators had been speaking with members of Roseberry’s family and learned that his mother had recently died, Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said. “There were other issues he was dealing with,” the chief said, without providing specific details.