Roseberry relative warned authorities of possible violence in DC a day before Capitol Hill bomb threat

“We don’t have to see each other eye to eye,” Roseberry said at one point, referring to the lack of physical presence or video. “I can tell in your voice you’re a good man … I’m willing to do whatever’s asked.”

Roseberry, who said he is 51 years old despite authorities saying he is 49, was appointed a federal public defender by Faruqui.

He is next due in court on Wednesday. Roseberry faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison if convicted on the weapon of mass destruction charge.

Prosecutors said they will ask Faruqui to detain him without bail pending trial.

After the hearing, the newly unsealed criminal complaint against Roseberry revealed that police saw him on Thursday holding an old, rusted can while sitting in his truck parked on the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress.

There were approximately 1 to 2 inches “of an unknown powder in the bottom of” the can, and “a fabricated trigger was attached to the top of the can,” an affidavit attached to the complaint said.

“The can was sent to an FBI laboratory for further examination,” the affidavit said.

That affidavit also said that a local law enforcement official in Cleveland County, North Carolina, had contacted the FBI on Thursday “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.”

“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,” the affidavit said. “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.'”

Roseberry’s actions Thursday led to the evacuation of buildings including the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the Cannon House Office Building and the offices of the Republican National Committee.

Roseberry parked a pickup truck on a sidewalk outside the library Thursday morning.

He then told cops he had a bomb inside, prompting an hourslong standoff that ended with him surrendering peacefully.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/20/capitol-hill-bomb-threat-defendant-floyd-ray-roseberry-in-court-.html