The individual who threatened to detonate a bomb near the Capitol in Washington in the United States “got out of his vehicle and surrendered,” Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said at a press conference . He was placed “in detention without incident,” he said. By mid-morning, Capitol Police announced that a “bomb threat investigation” was underway, as authorities intervened around a truck possibly filled with explosives and parked “near the Library of Congress. “.
“The driver of the van told the officer who arrived at the scene that he had a bomb and it appeared, according to the officer, that there was a detonator in the hand of this individual,” Thomas Manger said. . “We don’t know what his motivations are at this stage,” he said. No bomb was eventually found in the vehicle, but “materials which can be used to make bombs have been recovered” and the investigation is continuing, the Capitol police wrote in a statement late in the afternoon. midday.
“They have to bring Joe Biden here”
“Around 9:15 am this morning, a man in a black pick-up drove on the sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress,” Thomas Manger explained at a press conference. He is a white man with a shaved, bearded head, identified as Floyd Ray Roseberry. On social networks his messages “suggest that he is part of the pro-Trump movement + MAGA +”, acronym of “Make America Great Again”, the slogan of former President Donald Trump, pointed out the SITE extremist sites monitoring group.
During the day, the latter had posted a video on Facebook making threats. “I won’t move from here,” the man said on the recording. “Shoot me,” he said, defying the camera and threatening to detonate his bomb. “I’m trying to get Joe Biden on the phone”, “they have to get Joe Biden here”. “Do you know what the Democrats are doing? You are killing America. You make people want to leave America. “
Several surrounding buildings evacuated
Congress is not in session during this parliamentary recess week, but parliamentary employees and assistants frequent the Capitol. Several office buildings of the Library and Congress were evacuated and in others, those present were ordered to stay away from doors and windows, according to American journalists on the spot. The headquarters of the Republican Party, which is a few hundred yards away, was also evacuated, according to a Washington Post reporter who quotes an anonymous source. The police for their part called to avoid the area around the Library of Congress, which is opposite Congress, across a street and a park, right next to the Supreme Court.
“My team and our building near the vehicle were evacuated to safety,” tweeted Democratic House of Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had been briefed on this “evolving situation” and announced that police in the federal capital were cooperating with other forces present. The Washington Metro announced that its trains were avoiding the Capitol South stop “due to a police investigation.”
The Capitol again struck by fear
The Capitol grounds have been under tight security since the deadly assault carried out on January 6 by supporters of Donald Trump. Hundreds of pro-Trump protesters then forced Congress into entry while parliamentarians gathered inside to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over incumbent Republican President.
On April 2, a policeman was killed and another injured when a young man threw his car against a roadblock protecting the entrance, before being shot.
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