- Title: Police negotiating with man with possible explosives near U.S. Capitol
- Date: 19th August 2021
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (AUGUST 19, 2021) (REUTERS) CAPITOL POLICE AND WASHINGTON, D.C. POLICE OFFICIALS WALKING UP TO STAGING AREA (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPITOL POLICE CHIEF, TOM MANGER, SAYING: "First of all, I want to thank you all for your patience. Sorry to keep you so far away but safety is our number one focus during this incident. Around 9:15 this morning, a man in a black pick-up truck drove up to the sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress near 1st (Street) and Independence (Ave), Southeast. We responded to a disturbance call. The driver of the truck told the responding officer on the scene that he had a bomb and what appeared, the officer said appeared to be a detonator in the man's hand. So we immediately evacuated the nearby buildings. As you all know, the House and Senate are on recess but there are still people working throughout some of the buildings that were nearby this location. I don't want to get into the negotiations that are ongoing. I know that some information has come out in livestream so I know you all may have some information but my negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident. Not only do we have U.S. Capitol Police on the scene, but the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. is with us, the FBI Washington Field Office, ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms), and of course, D.C. Fire and EMS (District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department). So I'll take any questions you all have. REPORTER OFF-CAMERA: Is the suspect livestreaming hurting your investigation or is it helping your investigation? MANGER: So we're trying to get as much information as we can to find a way to peacefully resolve this. We are in communication with the suspect but I don't want to talk about exactly what we're talking about because the negotiations are ongoing. REPORTER OFF-CAMERA: Can you tell us why he's doing this? MANGER: We don't know what his motive is at this time. REPORTER OFF-CAMERA: Chief, what can you tell us about the suspect? Can you tell us if he's a veteran of the Afghan War or the War in Iraq? MANGER: We don't know a whole lot. We do have a possible name, an identity of the suspect, but we don't have much information at all about him at this time. We're going to give periodic updates and I'm sorry we don't have more information because this really is an ongoing situation but we'll give you another periodic update shortly." MANGER AND OFFICIALS WALKING AWAY FIRE TRUCKS AND EMERGENCY VEHICLES AT BOTTOM OF CLOSE-OFF STREET WHERE
- Embargoed: 2nd September 2021 17:23
- Keywords: Library of Congress Tom Manger bomb threat
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001EQY5S93
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Law enforcement officials were negotiating with a man who said he had a bomb in his pick-up truck near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday (August 19), causing nearby buildings to be evacuated as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene about a mile from the White House.
The U.S. Capitol Police said they did not know the man's motive but confirmed that he was livestreaming from the vehicle outside the Library of Congress, across the street from the Capitol.
Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters that the man parked his vehicle on a sidewalk and told an officer who approached him that he had a bomb while holding what appeared to be a detonator. Police do not know the man's motive, he said.
"My negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident," Manger said at a press conference.
A video livestreamed on Facebook appeared to show a man speaking inside a truck parked on a sidewalk outside of what looked like the Library of Congress.
"The revolution's on, it's here," the man said. "I'm trying to get (U.S. President) Joe Biden on the phone."
Police did not say whether the video was made by the suspect.
A U.S. law enforcement source said the presence of explosives had not been confirmed.
Several nearby buildings were evacuated, including the U.S. Supreme Court. People in the Madison office building were told to bar themselves in their offices. A nearby subway station was closed.
Police blocked off roads surrounding the Capitol complex as fire and rescue trucks headed to the area. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives said it was sending a bomb technician to support the police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also responded.
The ordinarily crowded Capitol Hill area was relatively deserted, with the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate out of session.
High-security fencing was erected in the area after the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, but it had been removed by mid-July.
(Production: Gershon Peaks, Julio-Cesar Chavez, Arlene Eiras) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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