Man surrenders after claiming to have bomb near US Capitol
The Library of Congress is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., Dec. 19, 2013. (AP Photo)


After a five hours standoff that paralyzed a swath of Washington on Thursday, the man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck near the United States Capitol surrendered to police.

Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters that the man, identified as Floyd Ray Roseberry, parked his vehicle on a sidewalk outside the U.S. Library of Congress at about 9:15 a.m. EDT (1:15 p.m. GMT) and told an officer who approached him that he had a bomb while holding what appeared to be a detonator.

Police shut down streets and evacuated nearby buildings as they negotiated with Roseberry.

"He gave up and did not resist, and our folks were able to take him into custody without incident," said Manger.

Police did not say whether he had any explosives.

A video livestreamed on Facebook showed Roseberry, a bald white man with a goatee, speaking inside a black truck parked on a sidewalk.

"The revolution's on; it's here," he said in the video while appearing to hold a large metal canister on his lap. "I'm trying to get (U.S. President) Joe Biden on the phone."

His ex-wife, Crystal Roseberry, told Reuters that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had threatened her with firearms in the past. She said she divorced him about eight years ago.

"He's crazy. He pulled a gun on me and his sister and shot at me numerous times," said the woman.

Facebook deactivated the livestream and removed the man's profile after about four hours.

Federal agents raided Roseberry's home in Grover, North Carolina, during the standoff in the U.S. capital.

Neighbors said Roseberry would set off explosives in his yard and disrupt deer hunters by shooting his gun repeatedly.

"He didn't want nobody killing no deer," neighbor Wayne Davis told Reuters.

In Washington, the ordinarily crowded Capitol Hill area was relatively deserted, with the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate out of session.

Police blocked off roads surrounding the Capitol complex as fire and rescue trucks headed to the area. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it sent a bomb technician to support the police. The FBI also responded.

Nearby buildings, including the U.S. Supreme Court, were evacuated.

Tensions have remained high on Capitol Hill more than seven months after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, when supporters of then-president Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, fought with police, and sought to block certification of the presidential election.

In April, a man rammed a car into barriers at the U.S. Capitol, killing one Capitol Police officer before the attacker was shot and killed.

The January uprising prompted authorities to erect a ring of steel in the form of tall metal fencing and razor wire around the Capitol complex.

The fencing – one of the last physical reminders of the attack – only came down in July.