Man Arrested After Threatening Vehicle Bomb Near White House, Police Say
He parked his truck in front of the Department of Veterans Affairs building on Vermont Avenue NW, walked a block south to the White House and demanded to speak to the president. When rebuffed, according to investigators, he told a U.S. Secret Service officer that his truck contained a bomb.
“Don’t touch the keys in the ignition or else something bad will happen,” the man said early Wednesday, according to documents filed in federal court. “I don’t care if children or veterans are harmed by the bomb. I only care about speaking to the president.”
Authorities scrambled to close off streets around McPherson Square. Within 21 / 2 hours, members of the D.C. police department’s explosive-ordnance team concluded that it was a false threat. Traffic returned to normal by 6:45 a.m., before the worst of the morning rush, and a 44-year-old man from Pennsylvania was arrested.
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