CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina man in custody for a bomb threat near the U.S. Capitol was charged in the case Friday and will undergo a mental competency evaluation.
Federal prosecutors charged Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, of Grover, with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and threat by explosives, which carries up to 10 years, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.
At Roseberry’s first court appearance in Washington on Friday afternoon, Judge Zia Faruqui ordered the Cleveland County man detained pending a competency evaluation and a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday, the release said.
Roseberry told the judge that he has not taken his “mind medication,” The Associated Press reported.
“My memory isn’t that well, sir,” he told Faruqui, according to The Washington Post. Roseberry, who has a federal public defender, said his wife had power of attorney over his medical care, the Post reported.
—Who is Roseberry?
Roseberry is a 49-year-old Cleveland County man who lived in Grover, authorities said. Grover is a town of about 700 residents, 40 miles west of Charlotte near the South Carolina line.
He ran an auto-repair business and owned a mobile home park, his father, Floyd Roseberry told The Washington Post.
Roseberry also was known as Bubba Roseberry, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. He was convicted in February 1989 of larceny and operating a vehicle without a license — both misdemeanors — and received probation and a suspended sentence.
Roseberry had a “limited” arrest history in Cleveland County, Sheriff Alan Norman said during a news conference in Grover on Thursday.
Roseberry was listed as an assistant supervisor at a clothing manufacturer called Ithaca Industries Inc., according to a records search by the (Raleigh) News & Observer. However the company has not filed an annual report with the North Carolina Secretary of State since 2001.
Roseberry had recently lost members of his family, including his mother, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said.
“There were other issues that he was dealing with,” Manger said, citing conversations with Roseberry’s family.
It’s not known if Roseberry had a military or law enforcement background, Manger said.
—What happened?
Roseberry is accused of threatening to blow up a truck full of explosives near the U.S. Capitol.
He parked his pickup truck for several hours in front of the Library of Congress and said he had explosives, Manger said. Police said they initially communicated with Roseberry via white boards.
He surrendered after about five hours, police said.
Capitol Police didn’t find a bomb in the truck, “but possible bomb-making materials” were found, according to a news release by the agency.
—What does the affidavit say?
An arrest warrant affidavit says:
—Local law enforcement from Cleveland County recognized Roseberry and contacted the FBI (not the other way around).
—A report was filed Wednesday in which a relative said Roseberry had recently expressed an intent to conduct acts of violence in Virginia or D.C.
—Roseberry warned officials he had no control of the bomb if they shot windows out.
—Roseberry said the old metal can he had in his truck had tannerite, a brand of exploding rifle target made of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder. The FBI said the rusted can had 1-2 inches of an unknown powder, and the can was sent to a lab for examination.
—What does his family say?
Roseberry has experienced mental health issues, family members told news outlets.
He had a volatile temper that helped end their 10-year marriage about a decade ago, ex-wife Crystal Roseberry told the Post.
She never knew him to have explosives, however, she told the AP. He was an avid collector of firearms, she said.
Roseberry disliked President Joe Biden’s policies, supported Donald Trump and was skeptical of vaccines, his son’s 20-year-old fiancee, Courtney Foster, told the Post.
“He is just a good old farming country man that has just kind of had enough,” she said.
—Is he a terrorist?
Roseberry has not been charged with terrorism.
Videos posted to Facebook before the page was taken down appear to show Roseberry at a pro-Trump rally on Washington on Nov. 14 to protest what they claimed was a stolen election, the AP reported.
One video appears to be filmed by Roseberry as he’s marching with a crowd of hundreds of people carrying U.S. and Trump flags while shouting “stop the steal.”
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the platform removed a page with several live videos from Roseberry saying he was inside the truck with explosive materials, McClatchy News reported.
—Is there a connection to Jan. 6 rioters?
The FBI is investigating whether Roseberry was involved in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, Robert Wells, special agent in charge of the agency’s Charlotte field office, said Thursday.
“It’s too soon to tell,” Wells told reporters in Grover.
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(Observer staff writer Rogelio Aranda contributed to this story.)
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