WASHINGTON D.C., DC — For much of the day on Thursday, Aug. 19, the United States Capitol Police (USCP) worked to take a man from North Carolina into custody who reportedly made a bomb threat outside of the Library of Congress. That man, 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry, was taken into custody after an hours-long standoff.
Roseberry was confirmed as a Grover, North Carolina, resident by deputies with the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office during a news briefing. Grover is located about 40 miles west of Charlotte.
His home was searched for any trace of explosives, but deputies said nothing viable was found.
WCNC Charlotte has compiled a timeline of what happened. Included in this timeline are related links to coverage, social media posts, and live streams.
Note: All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
7 a.m.
Before he parked his truck in front of the Library of Congress, Roseberry starts a live stream from the driver's seat. WCNC Charlotte's sister station WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C., reports he held multiple streams, ranting about topics ranging from the state of the nation's coinage to the treatment of Afghans by Americans. In his streams, Roseberry pushes many conspiracy theories claiming President Joe Biden was unlawfully elected. Much of his anger is directed at the president, and he promised to stand down if Biden left office.
Roseberry also expressed ire against the U.S. health care system. He says his wife has cancer on her face and had recently been denied treatment by their insurance provider. He also claimed he was denied "cell therapy shots" and claimed the doctor responsible for administering them turned him down. Further, he said his own mother also died of cancer.
9:15 a.m.
USCP reports in a news release a black pickup truck driven by Roseberry has parked onto the sidewalk in front of the LIbrary of Congress near First Street S.E. and Independence Avenue. He reportedly tells a USCP officer he had a bomb, and the officer reports something that looks like a detonator was seen in Roseberry's hand.
USCP evacuated nearby buildings, including Library buildings and the Cannon Office Building. USCP notes both chambers of Congress were on recess, but there were still some people working in the buildings at the time.
12:25 p.m.
NBC News reports police start talking with Roseberry by using a dry-erase board. USCP said they used a robot to give him a cell phone, but he refused to communicate with them that way.
12:51 p.m.
WCNC Charlotte reporter Brandon Goldner arrives in the Grover, North Carolina, neighborhood where Roseberry lives. He tweets out a video of the scene where several deputy cars are lined along the side of the road and into the home's driveway.
Deputies told Goldner he needed to move to a media staging area away from the neighborhood.
1:02 p.m.
Law enforcement confirms Roseberry's identity to WUSA-TV.
2:10 p.m.
Eric Flack, a reporter with WUSA, reported USCP confirmed after the threat was over that Roseberry hosted live streams on his personal Facebook profile. Flack notes the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security were also questioning his wife.
2:20 p.m.
Roseberry gets out of the truck on his own accord per USCP. He is taken into custody safely.
3:30 p.m.
The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office and the FBI hold a news briefing in Grover near Roseberry's home. The investigation was ongoing still at the time as investigators searched for possible explosive devices at his home.
They believed the neighborhood was safe and noted law enforcement officers were still at the house to make sure that was still the case.
During the conference, WCNC Charlotte learned from the FBI that Roseberry had no prior criminal record at the federal level. The sheriff's office revealed Roseberry was known to deputies with a fairly limited history. In the late 1980s, he was charged with larceny over $200 and driving without a license. Probation for both charges was granted, but in 1993 he was convicted of resisting a public officer.
4:47 p.m.
USCP clears evacuation of the Cannon Building. NBC News reports USCP searched Roseberry's truck and found no viable explosive devices.
6:21 p.m.
USCP clears the scene near the Library of Congress.
What's next in the investigation
Roseberry appeared in federal court on Friday, Aug. 20. He is charged with the threat of use of a weapon of mass destruction and use or attempted use of an explosive device. A judge ordered a competency screening for Roseberry. NBC News reported that Roseberry told officials he's having trouble understanding what's happening because he hadn't taken his "mind medicine" in two days.
M. Quentin Williams, a former FBI agent and federal prosecutor said a sentence spanning anywhere from 10 to 20 years in prison could be possible.