Capitol car-ram twist
Family and friends were concerned well before the ramming attack on the US Capitol on Friday that Noah Green was unraveling.
The 25-year-old former football player for Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., was increasingly paranoid and erratic — accusing roommates of drugging him and then moving suddenly from his native Virginia to Indiana, and then a few months ago to Botswana, in Africa.
Green reportedly told his brother, Brendan, that he suffered from hallucinations, heart palpitations and headaches, and that he thought about suicide.
His mental illness may have stemmed from repeated head trauma during his years playing football, family members speculated to The Washington Post on Saturday.
Green’s mental state is increasingly the focus of the investigation into the attack, which left Officer William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran, dead and another officer injured after Green rammed them with his car at a security-checkpoint barrier.
Green died when he was shot by officers after he emerged from the crumpled vehicle with a knife in his hand and lunged at officers.
Officials have spoken with his relatives, who shared with investigators their concerns about his increasingly delusional thoughts.
The family released a statement Saturday that said Green “was not a terrorist by any means,” but that he suffered from “depression and potential mental illness.”
Relatives said they were “just as taken aback as the rest of the nation from this horrific event” and expressed “great sympathy” for Evans and the injured officer.
Facebook posts removed after Green was identified reflected his difficulties. “To be honest, these past few years have been tough, and these past few months have been tougher,” one post said. “I have been tried with some of the biggest, unimaginable tests in my life. I am currently now unemployed, after I left my job, partly due to afflictions.”
In other posts, Green claimed he was under government thought control and said he was being watched. He described himself as a follower of the Nation of Islam and its founder, Louis Farrakhan, and spoke of leaning on his faith to get through difficult times.
The attack, coming so soon after the Jan. 6 riot, made it clear the Capitol is still a target and means that the razor-wire-topped fence surrounding it since then will likely remain a while longer.
While about 2,300 National Guard members were slated to stay at the Capitol through the end of May because of heightened safety concerns, Capitol Police two weeks ago removed the outer fence installed right after the riot, which had cut off city streets around the building.
An inner layer of fencing remains, but many members of Congress believe the grounds should be open to the public regardless of any potential threat. The building itself has been closed to visitors for the past year due to the pandemic.
“We’ve got to figure out what the sweet spot is with the security,” said Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, the chairman of a House spending committee that oversees Capitol security.