This image provided by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia shows a government image of Floyd Ray Roseberry, who claimed he had a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol, prompting evacuations and an hourslong standoff with police. Roseberry, 49, of Grover, N.C., pleaded not guilty Wednesday in federal court in Washington to charges of threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction and making a false explosives threat over the Internet. (United States District Court for the District of Columbia)
A man who prompted evacuations around the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 19 by claiming to have a bomb in his truck has been found competent to stand trial.
Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, of Grover, N.C., pleaded not guilty Wednesday in federal court in Washington to charges of threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction and making a false explosives threat over the Internet.
Roseberry was taken into custody on Aug. 19 after an hourslong standoff in which police said he drove his truck onto a sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress just east of the Capitol and aired grievances against President Biden and other Democrats on a Facebook live stream. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges, although law enforcement said they did not find an operational weapon in his vehicle.
The police standoff with Roseberry last month was particularly alarming as those who live and work at the U.S. Capitol have reeled this year from the Jan. 6 insurrection, a subsequent unrelated attack that left a police officer dead and security measures throughout the year that fenced off the typically public space.
Roseberry was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after his arrest and ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation. Court-appointed psychologist Teresa Grant reported that Roseberry initially received the wrong medication, that she corrected the problem, and that new medications stabilized his symptoms, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said at a competency hearing Wednesday.
After neither federal prosecutors nor Roseberry's federal defender objected, Faruqui accepted Grant's competency recommendation.
Asked in court how he was doing, Roseberry said that given the circumstances and the seriousness of his situation, "I feel good."
Faruqui said Roseberry's answer sounded thoughtful, adding, "I have no concerns. His behavior comports today and further demonstrates he is competent to stand trial."
In interviews, relatives said Roseberry had a history of mental health problems and violent behavior. A relative had warned local police a week before the standoff with law enforcement that Roseberry was headed to Washington after expressing anti-government views, according to court documents.
