Man Arrested Near Capitol Faces WMD Charge

[tekisui]

WASHINGTON - Authorities revealed Tuesday that a man carrying a loaded shotgun was arrested in January near the U.S. Capitol, and explosives left in his truck nearby went undetected for three weeks.

According to an indictment filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, Michael Gorbey, 38, of Rapidan, Va., faces charges of planning to set off a bomb. He also is accused of making or transporting an explosive device with the intent of using it against people or property and multiple firearms charges.

Gorbey allegedly tried to manufacture a "weapon of mass destruction, that is, an explosive device capable of causing multiple deaths or serious bodily injuries to multiple persons, or massive destruction of property," according to the indictment.

He was arrested Jan. 18 for carrying the shotgun and a sword outside the Capitol. Gorbey told police he was headed to an appointment at the Supreme Court. No one was injured in the incident, which caused gridlock for hours on Capitol Hill.

U.S. Capitol Police discovered the explosive device three weeks later when they returned with a search warrant to check the truck, which was in a government parking lot.

Terrance Gainer, the Senate sergeant-at-arms, told The Washington Post the device in Gorbey's truck, which was parked about two blocks from the Capitol, "could have caused serious injuries," if detonated.

more at link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23803125/

[Solly Mack]

1. it took 3 weeks to return with a search warrant in this day and age of anything goes

in the war on terror?

[tekisui]

4. Apparently the police can't recognize a WMD.

From the link:

Police initially searched Gorbey's truck in January and said there were propane tanks and wires but no immediate danger. They used a robotic camera to look inside the vehicle and a powerful water hose to destroy suspicious items inside.

Now U.S. Capitol Police are investigating how their bomb squad missed the bomb.

The device was made of a can of gunpowder taped to a box of shotgun shells and a bottle with buckshot or BB pellets, according to court documents.

[babylonsister]

2. They finally found WMDs?? Phew! nt

[thunder rising]

3. A conventional explosive is NOT a WMD...sorry, nope, not redefining WMD to fit this story.

The public is not allowed to know the details of the device .. typical. I mean we are talking about a guy with a shotgun and a sword and what, a pipe bomb?
It's a secret ya'know.

[tekisui]

5. A pipe bomb that was so poorly made that the cops didn't

even recognize it as a bomb.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

6. This article is poorly written. They had the truck right after they arrested him.

They didn't find the bomb until 3 weeks later. The police missed it?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23803125/

Capitol Police: Bomb was overlooked

Police initially searched Gorbey's truck in January and said there were propane tanks and wires but no immediate danger. They used a robotic camera to look inside the vehicle and a powerful water hose to destroy suspicious items inside.


Now U.S. Capitol Police are investigating how their bomb squad missed the bomb.

The device was made of a can of gunpowder taped to a box of shotgun shells and a bottle with buckshot or BB pellets, according to court documents.

what bothers me, with stories like this, they inform the public a couple months after the fact. It also sounds like the guy is a bit crazy? Arrested at the Capitol with a shotgun and a sword?