Man who claimed to have bomb at Capitol competent for trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who claimed he had a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol last month, prompting evacuations and an hourslong standoff with police, is competent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Floyd Ray Roseberry pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday to charges that include threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction.

The 49-year-old from Grover, North Carolina, drove a black pickup truck onto the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress on Sept. 19 and began shouting to people in the street that he had a bomb. He later made the same bomb threats to police officers and professed a litany of antigovernment grievances as part of a bizarre episode that he livestreamed for a Facebook audience.

Roseberry surrendered after about five hours. Police later said they did not find a bomb but did collect possible bomb-making materials.

During an initial court appearance last month, Roseberry told the judge he had not taken his “mind medicine” and the judge ordered a mental competency hearing.

A psychiatrist found that medication that Roseberry had been taking wasn’t effectively treating the bipolar disorder he was diagnosed with. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui ruled Wednesday that a new treatment has been effective and Roseberry is competent to stand trial.