Man who threatened to detonate explosives near U.S. Capitol charged with WMD and explosives threats

The North Carolina man who was arrested on Thursday for threatening to blow up the U.S. Capitol was formally charged on Friday in a Washington D.C. federal court, and ordered to remain in custody. 

Floyd Ray Roseberry, who pulled his black pick-up truck on to the sidewalk near the Library of Congress, across the street from the U.S. Capitol building, has been charged with "threatening to use explosives and a weapon of mass destruction," according to the Washington Times. 

Mr. Roseberry was ordered to be held without bond and a competency hearing was set for Aug. 25. The weapon of mass destruction charge is punishable by up to life in prison, according to the outlet. 

Part of the five-hour standoff was shown live on social media from Roseberry's Facebook account. In an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint charging Mr. Roseberry, the FBI cited him saying, "Hey, call the police and tell them to come out here and clear the Capitol," and "They need to clear that 'cause I got a bomb in here." He added, "I don't want nobody hurt. I'm not coming here to hurt nobody.

The FBI said that he claimed to have 2.5 pounds of explosives, though the incident ended without any explosions taking place. Police did, however, recover something that appeared to be an explosive device from his pick-up truck, which they sent to an FBI lab for analysis. 

A relative of Mr. Roseberry had warned local police that he was planning to travel Virginia or D.C. "to conduct acts of violence," according to the FBI.

In the Facebook video, according to the Washington Times, "Mr. Roseberry ranted against Democrats including President Biden and claimed he was participating in a 'revolution' and encouraged other 'patriots' to join him."

A public defender representing Mr. Roseberry declined to comment.