NC man ruled competent to stand trial in US Capitol bomb threat case from August

The North Carolina man accused of threatening to bomb the U.S. Capitol in August is competent to stand trial, a federal judge in the District of Columbia ruled Wednesday, multiple media outlets reported.

Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, of Grover was indicted by a grand jury on Sept. 14 on charges of threatening to use explosive materials and weapons of mass destruction, court records show.

Roseberry pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.

The charge of threatening use of a weapon of mass destruction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and threat by explosives up to 10 years, according to a news release in August from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

In August, Roseberry told U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui that he hadn’t taken his “mind medication,” The AP reported at the time.

“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.

Roseberry had a “limited” arrest history in Cleveland County, Sheriff Alan Norman said during a news conference in Grover in August

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 at the time.

Roseberry had recently lost members of his family, including his mother, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in August.

“There were other issues that he was dealing with,” Manger said, citing conversations with Roseberry’s family.

What happened?

Roseberry is accused of threatening to blow up a truck full of explosives near the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 19.

In a Facebook video reviewed by The Charlotte Observer, Roseberry said he had explosives in his pickup truck.

Capitol Police didn’t find a bomb in the truck, “but possible bomb making materials were collected from the truck,” according to a news release by the agency.

Roseberry parked his pickup truck for several hours in front of the Library of Congress and said he had explosives, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said. Police said they initially communicated with Roseberry via white boards.

He surrendered after about five hours, police said.

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 in which a relative said Roseberry had recently expressed an intent to conduct acts of violence in Virginia or the District of Columbia.

▪ 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.