The defendant Floyd Ray Roseberry on trial for bomb menace in opposition to Capitol Hill

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A man, identified by police as Floyd Ray Roseberry, who claims to be sitting in his truck with explosives, speaks during a Facebook livestream in a still from a video captured in Washington on August 19, 2021.

Social media via Reuters

The North Carolina man, whose allegation of having a bomb in his truck parked on Capitol Hill led to the evacuation of the Supreme Court and other buildings, was charged Friday on threats with the use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device.

The man, Floyd Ray Roseberry, was also arrested without bail at a hearing in the US District Court in Washington, DC, pending a medical examination the day after he railed on Facebook that the “revolution begins today.” “While threatening to ignite explosives.

Later on Friday, a court record revealed that a relative of Roseberry’s relative warned North Carolina law enforcement officers on Wednesday – the day before the bomb threat – that Roseberry had recently expressed anti-government views and planned to travel to Washington or Virginia to commit acts of violence.

The same file contained a photo of Roseberry in his truck with a can that later contained powder of unknown origin.

Judge Zia Faruqui ordered the medical examination after Roseberry said it was difficult for him to understand the procedure as he had been denied blood pressure medication and “my mental medicine” since he was handed over to police on Thursday.

“My memory is not that good, sir,” said Roseberry via audio link during the remote performance.

“We don’t need to be eye to eye,” Roseberry said at one point, referring to the lack of physical presence or video. “I can tell by your voice that you are a good man … I am ready to do whatever is asked.”

Roseberry, who said he was 51 years old despite authorities said he was 49, was appointed federal defender by Faruqui.

He’s next on trial on Wednesday. Roseberry faces the highest possible life imprisonment if convicted of weapons of mass destruction.

Prosecutors said they would ask Faruqui to hold him pending trial without bail.

After the hearing, the resealed criminal complaint against Roseberry revealed that police saw him on Thursday with an old, rusted can in his truck parked on the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress.

There was about 1 to 2 inches of “unknown powder” at the bottom of the can and “a fabricated trigger was attached to the top of the can,” according to an affidavit accompanying the complaint.

“The can was sent to an FBI laboratory for further investigation,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit also states that a local law enforcement officer in Cleveland County, North Carolina, contacted the FBI on Thursday “to report that the officer had found Roseberry as the subject of an the previous day, 18th person (W-1) related to roseberry. “

“W-1 reported concern that Roseberry had recently expressed anti-government views and intended to travel to Virginia or Washington, DC to carry out acts of violence,” the affidavit said. “W-1 also reported that Roseberry had stated that he had ‘ordered a trench coat to protect him from taser and pepperball guns, and he would just throw his cowboy hat at the police.'”

Roseberry’s actions on Thursday resulted in the evacuation of buildings including the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the Cannon House office building and the offices of the Republican National Committee.

Roseberry parked a pickup truck on a sidewalk in front of the library Thursday morning.

He then told police officers that he had a bomb inside, which resulted in an hour-long stalemate that resulted in him surrendering peacefully.

Floyd Ray Roseberry sits in his pickup truck in a standoff with the Capitol Police outside the Library of Congress in Washington DC on August 19, 2021

Photo: Sydney Bobb

Before giving up, the Grover, North Carolina man posted videos of his truck on Facebook speaking directly to President Joe Biden, whose resignation he called for when he called for a revolution.

He also called for US air strikes on the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Roseberry claimed in a video that he had a barrel of gunpowder and more than two pounds of the explosive tannerite in the truck. He also suggested that there were four more bombs in the DC area.

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