| OneHungLo |
03-28-2019 05:54 PM |
Hillary Supporter threatens to kill the president and blow up the Pentagon
Quote:
HAZELTON — A man driving his car 130 mph on Interstate 68 in Preston County allegedly made threats to kill the president and blow up the Pentagon, State Police said Wednesday.
The possible danger was reinforced by three police dogs indicating the presence of explosives in the man’s car, but none were found.
Police have not released the name of the 42-year-old man, whose car had Missouri license plates, nor have they listed any charges pending against him.
According to a release from State Police 1st Sgt. Geoffrey Petsko in Morgantown, a trooper was traveling on I-68 when a car traveling in excess of 130 mph approached from behind and passed the trooper’s vehicle.
The trooper, D.W. Satterfield of the Bridgeport detachment, stopped the vehicle near the eastbound 30-mile marker.
Satterfield said the driver “appeared to be confused and stressed, and made statements that were concerning.”
“Threats were made to kill the president of the United States and to blow up the Pentagon. A search of the vehicle revealed a firearm and an explosive powder,” media outlets report other State Police officials as saying, but Petsko did not confirm the presence of a gun.
Petsko said the statements, “along with other factors, led TFC Satterfield to believe in the possibility that there was an explosive device present inside the vehicle.”
While Satterfield removed the man and took him into custody without incident, the decision was made around 11 a.m. to close both sides of I-68 while the vehicle was searched further.
Explosives teams from the West Virginia State Police, Maryland State Police and the West Virginia University Police Department responded to the scene.
“WVU Police Department K-9 handlers Lt. Josh Cook and Sgt. Zack Camden arrived with three explosives-detecting K-9s,” Petsko said. “All three K-9s indicated the presence of explosive materials inside the vehicle.”
State Police Explosive Response Team members Sgt. M.G. Fordyce and Sgt. A.W. Webb then arrived to search the vehicle.
“No explosive devices were found,” Petsko said. “However, the incident remains under investigation.”
The car in question was loaded onto a truck and taken under police escort to the Kingwood detachment. That brought an end to the interstate shutdown at about 2:30 p.m.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrived on scene to assist, an FBI spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
“I can confirm the FBI is currently assisting our law enforcement partners on this incident. I do not have any other information to release,” said Catherine Policicchio, spokeswoman for the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office.
Petsko said the incident drew additional federal attention from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, as well as the Secret Service.
Other participating agencies included the Preston County Sheriff’s Department, Kingwood Police, the Division of Highways, the Maryland State Highway Administration, the Bruceton-Brandonville Fire Department, Bruceton Ambulance Service and the Maryland Fire Marshal’s Office.
At the start of the road closure, traffic on the normally busy highway came to a screeching halt and formed long lines in both directions.
When it appeared the investigation would be lengthy, most vehicles were sent into the opposite lanes to head back.
That left a long line of tractor-trailers sitting westbound at the Maryland line, where there was no easy place to turn around. A few of them were permitted to travel to the West Virginia rest stop, which is located less than a mile from where the Missouri car was pulled over on the eastbound side.
While the incident did not involve the nearby Federal Correctional Complex Hazelton, the prison appeared to be on a heightened state of alert, with several vehicles and officers posted at the entrance to the campus. Officials did not comment on whether the inmates were on lockdown.
https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/u...0de5e6be7.html
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