A family member of the North Carolina man arrested for threatening to blow up his truck on Capitol Hill warned law enforcement about him just a day before the incident, according to court documents filed Friday.
Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, was charged Friday with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device.
A filing in US District Court in Washington revealed more details of the strange incident with Roseberry, whose threats broadcast live on social media Thursday prompted the evacuation of several offices in the area, including the Supreme Court.
On Wednesday, law enforcement in North Carolina received a report from a relative of Roseberry, who said that “Roseberry had recently expressed anti-government views and an intent to travel to Virginia or Washington, DC to conduct acts of violence,” according to the affidavit.
The family member also said that Roseberry had stated that he had “ordered a trench coat to protect him from Taser and pepper ball guns and he would just tip his cowboy hat at the police,” the court doc said.
The FBI and Capitol Hill Police responded to a call of a bomb threat at 9:45 a.m. Thursday, as Roseberry claimed to viewers that he had a bomb he intended to blow up inside his truck, which he had parked on the sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress.
“Around 10:21 a.m., ROSEBERRY began communicating with law enforcement through messages on a white board from his car, while he also held a twisted, rusty metal can that appeared to be some kind of explosive device,” the filing states.
According to the affidavit, messages exchanged on the white board included “please don’t shoot the windows the vibe will explode the bomb” and “I have no control of it.”
The device, seized by law enforcement, contained an unknown powder in the bottom and a “fabricated” trigger attached to the top, according to law enforcement.
The can was sent to an FBI laboratory for further examination.
“Hey, call the police and tell them to come out here and clear the Capitol. Tell them to clear the Capitol,” Roseberry could be heard saying at one time during his unhinged Facebook rant, noted in the court document. “Tell them to clear it. These f–ing people think I’m joking, don’t they. Hey ma’am, will you call them? I’ve called 911 a couple times. Tell them to come out here and clear this f–ing place out. They need to clear that ‘cause I got a bomb in here. I don’t want nobody hurt. Yes sir, I don’t want nobody hurt. I’m not coming here to hurt nobody. I’m not lying, tell them there’s some more.”
Roseberry in another instance said: “We here. The f–ing revolution starts today Joe Biden. And before you go crackin’ any pop on me, you better get your military experts out, ask them motherf–kers what a 7 pound keg of gun powder will do with 2.5 pound of tannerite on that motherf–ker.”
Tannerite is a brand of explosive targets used for firearms practice.
The standoff prompted a major response from law enforcement, where snipers were sent in as officers tried to work out whether the threat was real, sources told the Associated Press.
Images during the standoff showed the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responding.
Dozens of dump trucks were also sent in to surround the truck, which did not have license plates, according to CNN.
Police evacuated congressional staff offices nearby, encouraging people to remain calm and use the underground tunnels if necessary to get out of the area.
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