Floyd Ray Roseberry (via DOJ court filing)
The lawyer for the North Carolina man accused of making a bomb threat outside the U.S. Library of Congress says that his client is nearing a plea deal with prosecutors.
Floyd Ray Roseberry forced police into an hours-long standoff in August of 2021 after he allegedly claimed to have a bomb with him in his pickup truck. He’s accused of driving the truck to Washington from North Carolina.
He is now charged with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction against the United States, which is punishable by up to life in prison. He is also charged with threatening to use an explosive device, which carries a potential 10-year prison sentence.
At a status conference hearing, Roseberry’s lawyer David Bos told U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras that the parties are currently negotiating a plea deal. Bos said that he was waiting to receive additional medical and psychological records in connection with his client’s counter to the government’s plea offer.
After Roseberry’s arrest, a court-appointed psychologist said Roseberry had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and needed more medical treatment. Weeks later, after Roseberry’s medication had been adjusted; the psychologist said his symptoms had stabilized, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui determined that Roseberry was competent to stand trial.
Bos suggested that the parties could return to court in 30 days for a status conference, but that they would be more likely have reached an agreement by around 45 days.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Tortorice agreed.
Contreras, a Barack Obama appointee, set the next hearing for May 16.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, a family member had called local police the day before the standoff expressing concerns about Roseberry’s recent actions and statements.
Police then called the FBI as the standoff was unfolding.
“During the course of these events on August 19, 2021, which garnered widespread media attention, a local law enforcement official in Cleveland County, North Carolina contacted the FBI to report that the official recognized Roseberry as the subject of a report received the previous day, on August 18, 2021, by a person (W-1) related to Roseberry,” the affidavit said. “W-1 had reported their concern that Roseberry had recently expressed anti-government views and an intent to travel to Virginia or Washington, D.C. to conduct acts of violence. W-1 also reported that Roseberry had stated that he “ordered a trench coat to protect him from Taser and pepper ball guns and he would just tip his cowboy hat at the police.”
During the standoff, Roseberry posted videos to his Facebook page and, according to prosecutors, can be heard saying:
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. These fucking people think I’m joking, don’t they. Hey ma’am, will you call them? I’ve called 911 a couple times. Tell them to come out here and clear this fucking place out. 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.
[. . .]
We here. The fucking revolution starts today Joe Biden. And before you go crackin’ any pop on me, you better get your military experts out, ask them motherfuckers what a 7 pound keg of gun powder will do with 2.5 pound of tannerite on that motherfucker.
If you want to shoot me and take the chance of blowing up two-and-a-half city blocks, ‘cause that tool box is full, ammonium nitrate is full.
In the end, no explosives were found in Roseberry’s truck.
[Images via DOJ court filing.]
