Capitol bomb suspect who went on Facebook Live to post bomb threat during police standoff pleads guilty
Yesterday, 52-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry, of Grover, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to one charge of threats to use explosives during a standoff with police that lasted four hours near the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. He’s looking at a statutory max sentence of 10 years behind bars, according to CNN.
Background: On August 19, 2021, around 9:45 a.m. U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI responded to a bomb threat made by Roseberry who was sitting inside of a black Chevrolet pick-up truck with no license plates, adjacent to the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, at First Street and Independence Avenue, in Southeast Washington, D.C. Roseberry was seen holding a cell phone and was claiming he had a detonator.
While sitting in the pickup, he was broadcasting live video and audio on Facebook.
During his Facebook Live event, he told his listeners and viewers that he was upset about the 2020 election results, and was demanding that President Biden resign from office. He also demanded to speak to Biden about several of his grievances. He claimed to have an ammonium nitrate and/or a Tannerite bomb in the toolbox of his truck.
Roseberry stated that the explosive device was engineered in such a way that any loud sound would cause it to detonate and destroy two and a half blocks, which would encompass the Library of Congress as well as other buildings owned or leased by the United States. Roseberry further claimed that he was one of five individuals in Washington, D.C. with bombs.
Roseberry could be seen on the Facebook videos holding a small metal keg with a puddy like substance on top and holding what appeared to be a trigger. The metal keg was later analyzed by the FBI and determined to have a small quantity of smokeless black powder at the bottom, but was incapable of detonating with the trigger Roseberry was holding, or by an acoustic mechanism as Roseberry described in the Facebook Live videos.
During an initial court appearance, Roseberry told the judge he had not taken his “mind medicine” and the judge ordered a mental competency hearing, according to WBTV. A magistrate judge later ruled that Roseberry was competent to stand trial.
Roseberry was also throwing U.S. dollar bills out of the truck and onto the street and stating, among other things:
“Hey, call the police and tell them to come out here and clear the Capitol. Tell them to clear the Capitol. Tell them to clear it. … They need to clear that ‘cause I got a bomb in here. I don’t want nobody hurt. Yes sir, I don’t want nobody hurt. I’m not coming here to hurt nobody. I’m not lying, tell them there’s some more.”–
“…I’m telling you, my windows pop, this bomb is gonna’ go, it’s made for decimals. …there’s gun powder in there this is some of the strongest shit you can get. I got two and a half pound of Tannerite.”
“If you want to shoot me and take the chance of blowing up two-and-a-half city blocks, ‘cause that toolbox is full, ammonium nitrate is full.”
At approximately 10:21 a.m., Roseberry began communicating with law enforcement by writing messages on a small white dry erase board and placing it in the driver’s side window of the target vehicle while intermittently holding an unidentified device.
His messages stated in part:
- “please don’t shoot the windows the vibe will explode the bomb,”
- “I have no control of it,”
- “decimals is what sets off not me,” and at approximately 11:21 a.m.,
- “my name is Ray Roseberry.”
In a video captured from the morning of August 19, 2021, Roseberry could be seen holding an old metal can that appeared to have been fashioned into an explosive device.
His sentencing is scheduled for June 15, 2023. For more on the strange tale of Floyd Ray Roseberry, see the video accompanying this article.
(Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office / District of Columbia)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
