Facebook/Getty Ray Roseberry
Ray Roseberry was identified as the North Carolina Donald Trump supporter who was streaming on Facebook Live while talking about Joe Biden and revolution from a truck during an active bomb threat investigation near the Library of Congress.
“It’s time to take a stand. Well mother f***ers, I’m here today. I’m setting the foundation. And if all you mother f***ers want to sit at home and explain to your kids why you didn’t go up there, you can do that,” he said in one video. “I’m good with it. But for me, that ain’t what I am. I’m an American Patriot. This platform is going to be built and when it’s built, you’ll know it…I’m a Patriot. My family fought the war. My uncle was in special services. He lost his legs. What did he do? He went back and served 10 more years. This world’s f***ed up…the Southern boys are here.” He said if Biden took him out, it would start a chain reaction. “The f***ing American people sent me here. I’m here to take a stand.”
You can watch the videos throughout this article. The Facebook page has now been taken down, hours after he started streaming. His full name is Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, from Grover, North Carolina, although he went by Ray Roseberry on Facebook. YouTube has also been removing some of Roseberry’s videos. A photo from the scene showed that he threw money out of the pickup truck as parts of the Capitol complex were evacuated and law enforcement responded en masse. It’s not clear whether Roseberry actually had a bomb. Snipers were at the scene.
Roseberry then surrendered. “Suspect in custody,” police wrote on Twitter.
Before he did, Tom Manger, the Capitol police chief, said in a news conference that, around 9:15 a.m., a man in a black pickup truck drove on the sidewalk near the Library of Congress. The driver told the responding officer that he had a bomb and the officer said the man had what appeared to be a detonator in his hand. “We immediately evacuated the nearby building,” Manger said. Police have not identified Roseberry, but his name is attached to the Facebook page from which he streamed the live videos.
Here is one of his main videos. It’s more than 30 minutes long.
“Guys I found me a place to park,” he said in one video. “All right guys. Looks to me like I’m getting ready to make a phone call.” He said at one point that “five of us are already here,” although it’s not clear if that’s true. “I’m ready to die for the cause.”
Manger said police responded “to a disturbance call.” He said the House and Senate are on recess. He said negotiations were ongoing, and he didn’t want to go into detail on that. “My negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident,” Manger said. He noted that law enforcement was aware of reports that the man was livestreaming on Facebook.
In one of his live stream videos, Roseberry said, “the South is coming for you.” He is a Trump voter, who voted for the first time in his life for the former president, his wife told NBC Washington’s Tom Lynch.
“They keep allowing these illegal Mexicans in here,” he said in one video. “All these illegal immigrants from Afghanistan. You don’t have free health care for us. You’re f***ing giving it to them. Joe Biden, the South is fed up. And it isn’t because we don’t love everybody. My heart goes out to everybody even animals. When I run over a rabbit, I have to go back and throw it out of the road to make sure it doesn’t get run over again. I deer hunt…I’ve always been taught. You don’t kill nothing you don’t eat.” He lamented a lack of health insurance. He said superstar athletes could get healthcare, but he couldn’t get shots for his back.
“People think it’s a joke but they cleared the block,” Roseberry said in one of the live videos. “They need to get Joe Biden down here. I’m not hurting nobody Joe. I’m not pulling the trigger on this thing. I can’t – there’s no way for me to blow this up. Only you can by shooting a bullet through my window. You don’t want to do it Joe. I love this land. We got a few options here Joe. You shoot me, this two and a half blocks is going with it. You’re talking about a revolution? The revolution is on. It’s here. It’s today.”
In the live streams, he requested to speak to Joe Biden and had something on his lap, while expressing animosity to Democrats. He indicated that he didn’t want to hurt anybody but still threatened to detonate an explosive device; again, it was not clear yet whether he really had one. He brought up the people of Afghanistan in one of the videos. He added, “We’re living in a free country Joe,” in one of the videos.
We reviewed Floyd Ray Roseberry’s Facebook page before it was deleted, and it reveals that he trashed President Joe Biden and shared a post by Donald Trump Jr. criticizing Biden on Afghanistan. He wrote about the “mega million man march.”
“The American people will take care of the Talaban after we take care of ours,” he wrote a day before the incident, spelling Taliban wrong.
On Facebook, he ranted about Biden’s exit from Afghanistan. “All those dead people are on your hands,” he said of Afghanistan and Biden’s strategy.
Here’s what you need to know about Floyd Ray Roseberry:
1. Floyd Ray Roseberry Ranted About Joe Biden on Facebook, Writing, ‘Biden Your Fired’ & Spoke About the Revolution ‘Starting Today’
Ray Roseberry sitting outside the Library of Congress while trying to “get Joe Biden on the phone” claims to have a bomb in his pick up truck.
Gotta deprogram these people.
t.co/H1tJJygdT4
Roseberry ranted about Biden on Facebook.
“It’s almost time…take a extra pair of civilians clothes for our heroes… who can carry arms in… BIDEN YOUR FIRED…NO ISN’T A OPTION…FLEE OUR LAND,” he wrote four days ago.
“I love this land. We got a few options here Joe. You shoot me, two and half blocks are going with me. And then you’re talking about a revolution. The Revolution is on,” he said in one Facebook Live video.
He said he didn’t want to die because he “loves to fish” and promised his wife he would be home Sunday. “I’ve cleared my conscience to God,” he said in one of the videos. “I have no fear.” Roseberry described America as the “land I love.” He added: “Somebody needs to tell Joe Biden, we’re here. The f**cking revolution starts today, Joe Biden, and before you start cracking any pops on me, you better get your military experts out unless those motherf*ckers want a seven pound keg of gunpowder…”
He said he loved Biden and Nancy Pelosi but said they needed to step down. He said he was “one of five… Joe Biden, we all came a different way.”
If the police shot him, “this thing goes boom,” he said on video.
“My trench coat will be here Friday… I’m excitrd,” Roseberry wrote on Facebook with a typo the day before, showing a flag and cowboy hat on his pickup dashboard.
Roseberry ranted about Facebook, comparing the platform to a “lying Democratic politician.” He criticized Greta Thunberg. The New York Times quoted a law enforcement official as saying he was making “anti-government statements” on Facebook.
Breaking: VIDEO The suspect, Ray Roseberry, has been live streaming the bomb threat at the Library of Congress on Facebook.
He is demanding to talk to Joe Biden on the phone.
Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone told Politico that Roseberry’s Facebook and Instagram were removed by the company. “We are in contact with law enforcement,” Stone said. “Our teams are working to identify, remove, and block any other instances of the suspect’s videos which do not condemn, neutrally discuss the incident or provide neutral news coverage of the issue.”
2. Police Said They Were Still Investigating the Motive, But The Suspect’s Videos & Social Media Posts Make His Politics Clear & He Threatened to Take More Than Two Blocks With Him
Manger said that police don’t know the suspect’s motives “at this time.” They acknowledged they had a possible name and identity of the suspect but said they were still gathering information on him. In one video, he said he called 911 three times and insisted, “I’m not hurting anybody, Joe. There’s no way for me to blow this up. Only you can, by shooting a bullet through my window. You don’t want to do it, Joe. I love this land, but we have a few options here, Joe. You shoot me, two and a half blocks are going with me and then you’re talking about a revolution. The revolution’s on. It’s here. It’s today.”
On Facebook, though, Roseberry made his conservative political beliefs clear; he also shared a graphic of Heath Ledger as the joker with the caption, “History was made by those who break the rules.” He also ranted about North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. He shared a graphic that read, “I avoid sh** because I’m scared of me, not you. Temper go from zero to prison real fast.”
His page was filled with patriotic themes.
One of his targets was climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
He posted about the “mega million man march.” That’s a reference to the “Million MAGA March” in which Trump supporters descended on Washington D.C. for an event supporting the former president.
He posted from the march.
He lamented the loss of American “traditions”:
The scare unfolded near the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. on August 19, 2021, as authorities investigated a possible explosive device parked in a truck, according to The Capitol Police.
“This is an active bomb threat investigation. The staging area for journalists covering this situation is at Constitution and First Street, NW for your safety,” Capitol police wrote on Twitter. “Please continue to avoid the area around the Library of Congress.”
Police also wrote: “NOW: The USCP is responding to a suspicious vehicle near the Library of Congress.”
3. Roseberry’s Wife Told a Reporter She Thought He Was Going on a Fishing Trip; He Voted for the First Time in His Life for Trump
LATEST: Capitol Police are investigating a suspicious vehicle near Library of Congress in what they call “an active bomb threat investigation.”
@MLevineReports has the latest information: t.co/Mk8ECuKeRX
Roseberry’s wife spoke to NBC’s Tom Lynch. He wrote on Twitter, “Roseberry’s wife told me that her husband left North Carolina last night and said he was going on a fishing trip. She says her husband has been upset of the result of the Presidential election and voted for the first time in his life for President Trump.”
Lynch also tweeted, “In a phone call, Roseberry’s wife says her husband recently struggled with mental health issues and recently changed medication. The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they were at Roseberry’s Glover, North Carolina home with FBI agents.”
In one video, he talked about his medical history, saying he had just gone to the doctor, but the doctor told him insurance wouldn’t cover a treatment he needed. His said his wife went to the doctor because she had cancer but because it was on her face it wouldn’t be covered. “Where’s the insurance at?” he said.
4. Roseberry Has a Criminal History
NC court records
North Carolina court records show a criminal history for Roseberry for larceny. He also has a traffic offense for operating a vehicle without a license.
Court records show an old bankruptcy under his name.
Pacer
According to the AP, police were trying to determine whether the device in the truck was an “operable explosive” and whether the man in the truck was “holding a detonator.” Snipers were being sent to the scene, according to AP.
5. The Thomas Jefferson Building Was Evacuated
According to CBS News, the vehicle in question was a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress. Staff in the Thomas Jefferson building were told to evacuate. Staff in the James Madison building were told to lock doors and take cover, according to CBS.
According to the Associated Press, parts of the Capitol Hill complex were evacuated as authorities investigated the possible threat.
Videos showed a massive law enforcement response to the scene.