Scary scene: Man makes a bomb threat outside the Library of Congress

The nation’s capital saw a large police presence Thursday morning and afternoon, after a man made a bomb threat outside the Library of Congress. The video above shows some of that police response.

The man was identified as Floyd Ray Roseberry of Grover, North Carolina. He was arrested without incident by mid-day.

The episode began about 9:15 a.m. local time. U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said Roseberry drove up the sidewalk outside the library in a truck. He told an officer he had a bomb, and was holding what the officer believed to be a detonator.

Police negotiators were talking to Roseberry as he wrote notes and showed them to authorities from inside the truck. Officials said they were trying to determine whether it was an operable bomb.

“My negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said. “We’re trying to get as much information as we can to find a way to peacefully resolve this.”

As negotiations continued, Roseberry took to Facebook Live while inside the truck. In the video, he threatened explosions, made anti-government threats, and talked about what he believes are the ills of the country which he identified as the U.S. position on Afghanistan, health care, and the military.

He said Democrats needed to step down. However, he also said he loved President Joe Biden. Facebook removed the videos a few hours after they were filmed. Roseberry did not appear to have a specific demand for law enforcement other than to speak with Biden.

Roseberry’s ex-wife said she had never known him to have explosives, but she said he was an avid collector of firearms.

Officials evacuated a number of buildings around the Capitol and sent snipers to the area. Congressional staffers were seen calmly walking out of the area at the direction of authorities. Congress is on recess.

The Republican National Committee, which is located close to where the truck was parked, was also evacuated. Someone left pipe boms at the RNC and the Democratic National Committee on the day before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Authorities have not figured who was behind the pipe bombs.

Things remain tense on Capitol Hill following the riot. Fencing that had been installed around the Capitol grounds had been up for months but was taken down this summer.