Trump supporter, 49, who threatened Capitol with FAKE 'tannerite device' is charged with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction as judge orders mental competency hearing
Floyd Ray Roseberry appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Washington and was charged with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to use an explosive device
A man who claimed he had a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol, prompting evacuations and an hourslong standoff with police, told a federal judge Friday he has not taken his 'mind medication' and was ordered to undergo a mental competency hearing.
Floyd Ray Roseberry appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Washington and was charged with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to use an explosive device. If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to life in prison.
Roseberry, 49, of Grover, North Carolina, drove a black pickup truck onto the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress around 9:15 a.m. Thursday and began shouting to people in the street that he had a bomb.
He later made the same bomb threats to police officers and professed a litany of antigovernment grievances as part of a bizarre episode that he live-streamed for a Facebook audience.
Floyd Ray Roseberry is apprehended after being in a pickup truck parked on the sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress' Thomas Jefferson Building, as seen from a window of the U.S. Capitol, Thursday
Roseberry, 49, of Grover, North Carolina, drove a black pickup truck onto the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress around 9:15 a.m. Thursday and began shouting to people in the street that he had a bomb
Roseberry later made the same bomb threats to police officers and professed a litany of antigovernment grievances as part of a bizarre episode that he live-streamed for a Facebook audience
A law enforcement official in North Carolina had recognized Roseberry and contacted the FBI to tell agents that someone had reported that Roseberry had recently 'expressed anti-government views and an intent to travel to Virginia or Washington, D.C. to conduct acts of violence,' according to court papers.
The person said Roseberry also told them he ordered a trench coat 'to protect him from Taser and pepper ball guns and he would just tip his cowboy hat at the police.'
During the standoff, Roseberry was communicating with police by using a small dry-erase board that he was holding against the driver´s side window of the truck. 'Please don´t shoot the windows the vibe will explode the bomb,' one read, according to court papers.
Roseberry surrendered after about five hours. Police later said they did not find a bomb but did collect possible bomb-making materials.
North Carolina state troopers block Blacksburg Road in Grover, North Carolina as cops raid Roseberry's home
The roads were sealed off as investigators made their way to the Cleveland County home
Investigators collected the device Roseberry had been holding - a large rusty can with what he had claimed was a detonator on top of it. The can had about an inch or two of an unidentified powder in the bottom of it and a 'fabricated trigger was attached to the top,' court papers said. The can was sent to an FBI laboratory to be examined.
In the court hearing Friday, Roseberry told the judge he couldn't fully understand what was happening because he had been denied medication while he was in custody. Roseberry told the judge he had gone to school until the eighth grade and then later earned a GED diploma.
He said he had not received medication for his blood pressure and his 'mind medicine.' Roseberry said he had 'been denied it for the last week I´ve been here,' but later said it had been two days.
He was taken into police custody about 24 hours before he appeared in court.
Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui ordered Roseberry to undergo a competency hearing and ordered him detained without bond.
Roseberry is due back in court Wednesday.
Authorities investigate a pickup truck parked on the sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress' Thomas Jefferson Building
Roseberry called 911, reporting that he had a 'tannerite bomb', and livestreamed his five hour standoff with United States Capitol Police on Facebook
In the live stream - which has not been confirmed by police, the man, believed to be Ray Roseberry says: 'We got a few options here Joe. You shoot me, two and half blocks are going with me'. He is demanding to speak to President Joe Biden and claims he has a tannerite bomb that will detonate if he is shot at
A barrel on the lap of a man, identified by police as Floyd Ray Roseberry, who claims to be sitting in his truck with explosives is seen during a Facebook livestream
Earlier on Friday, FBI descended on Roseberry's home in North Carolina. It's not clear what they found, if anything.
Crystal Roseberry told the Washington Post that she was married to Floyd Ray Roseberry for 10 years - but that their marriage ended 10 years ago because he had a 'volatile temper.'
Though she added: 'He's never done nothing like this before.'
Tom Lynch, an editor with WRC-TV, tweeted that he had spoken with Roseberry's wife - though it was not immediately clear if he spoke with Crystal or if he had remarried.
'Roseberry's wife told me that her husband left North Carolina last night and said he was going on a fishing trip,' Lynch tweeted.
'She says her husband has been upset of the result of the Presidential election and voted for the first time in his life for President Trump.'
He added: 'Roseberry's wife says her husband recently struggled with mental health issues and recently changed medication. The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office confirmed they were at Roseberry's Glover, North Carolina home with FBI agents.'