Hours-long standoff at Library of Congress ends after N.C. man surrenders

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A North Carolina man is in custody after police say he drove to Washington, D.C. and put parts of nation’s capital on lockdown by telling police he had a bomb.

The Gray Television Washington News Bureau was there when the truck that police say belongs to Floyd Ray Roseberry was towed away, hours after the standoff began.

It all started just after 9 a.m. Thursday when they say Roseberry parked his car on the sidewalk just outside of the Library of Congress’ Jefferson Building.

“The driver of the truck told the responding officer on the scene that he had a bomb,” explained Chief Tom Manger of the U.S. Capitol Police.

Law enforcement then evacuated the Jefferson Building and Cannon House Office Building. People in a second library building, the Madison Building, were told to shelter in place.

Roseberry posted a video on Facebook where he was seen holding what looks like a large canister. In the video, Roseberry also talked about wanting President Biden and other Democrats to leave office. He claimed that he wasn’t working alone and that there were four other explosive devices placed around Washington, D.C. Police say they found no evidence to support that claim.

After about a five-hour standoff, Roseberry gave himself up to police.

“We tried to negotiate with Mr. Roseberry,” explained Manger. “We first started doing that with a whiteboard writing messages back and forth...He got out of the vehicle and surrendered, and the tactical units that were close by took him into custody.”

Most lawmakers were not on Capitol Hill as it is August recess, so most of the people affected by the lockdown and evacuations where Capitol Hill or Library of Congress staff.

This is the second major security event to happen near the Capitol since the Jan. 6 riots. In April, a man drove into a Capitol barricade, then stabbed two officers before being fatally shot. Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans lost his life in that attack.

Capitol Police say investigators are working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia to determine charges.

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