Man with suitcases detained at U.S. Capitol

HOON69 · 12-04-2005, 07:24 AM

Man with suitcases detained at U.S. Capitol

Monday, April 11, 2005 Posted: 1835 GMT (0235 HKT)

story.2.capitol.jpg
The man looks back at armed police crouching behind a wall.
Image:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Police on Monday tackled and forcibly dragged away a man with two suitcases who had stationed himself in front of the west side of the U.S. Capitol.

The incident had forced police to evacuate that side of the Capitol in fear of a possible explosion.

Police, some armed with assault rifles, moved in slowly behind the man, who was dressed in black and faced the Capitol from a plaza below its west entrance. Crouching behind the wall, the police sprang up and ran at the man, who never moved.

He was tackled by two policemen, dragged to an ambulance and taken away. Police left the suitcases behind.

Some spectators applauded as police dragged the man away.

Before the standoff ended, Capitol police spokesman Michael Lauer said the man had not said anything to police.

Among the officials whose offices are on the west side of the Capitol looking out upon the National Mall are House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.

news update is that this dude was waiting for someone to pick him up,and was a tourist

LOL fair enough its a safety concern with terrorism etc in the U.S but the man was dragged away with spectators applauding the police,poor guy only wanted a lift and in the end he was jumped on dragged and thrown into a ambulance and then ppl applauded it,welcome to american
please have arms above head and await to be tackled by S.W.A.T
enjoy your stay sir..

imho americans are a joke,too uptight n judgemental and paranoid
fair enough 9/11 changed everything but if every tourist carry their bags is gunna be treated as a suspect its BS really..

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MAGPIE · 12-04-2005, 09:02 AM

Simple solution is to not be a tourist in the U.S, take your tourist dollars elsewhere, its they that will lose out the most.

Aussie Falcon · 12-04-2005, 09:42 AM

The news report I saw said he asked to see the President.

I've been to DC and it's not a city to play silly buggers with the authorities. On the important streets you often see black government cars with engines running and the snipers on top of the whitehouse are easy to spot.

I've been in the Capitol building itself and was dying for a **** and couldn't find the public toilets. I wondered down one corridor and found a toilet that had a sign saying senators only, as there was no one about I went inside. That was a couple years before 9/11 so I doubt that would be possible these days.

Another time I wanted a photo in front of the FBI building, I gave my camera to a friend of mine and started walking towards the entrance. I saw two security guards talking to their sleeves and fidgeting their jackets. After seeing that I wasn't game to go any closer especially with a backpack on so I stopped and turned around and took the photo where I was standing.

Sourbastard · 12-04-2005, 09:54 AM

DC is paradoxically the most secure, and the most dangerous place in the US.

If you are important, you are safe.
If you arent, you are likely to be gunned down simultaneously by the "authorities" and one of the many gangs or car jackers roaming the city.

The J Edgar Hoover Building hasnt always had heavy security, and on the weekends, like the rest of DC, its practically deserted.

Homer1 · 12-04-2005, 03:57 PM

Apparently the man in question is an Aussie...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Apr11.html

lukey · 12-04-2005, 04:04 PM

lol sounds like a pretty funny situation

bindi · 12-04-2005, 04:21 PM

*Bindi's reminded of The Terminal...*

Mike Gayner · 12-04-2005, 05:39 PM

Jesus I just saw the footage on the news. This Chinese (not Aussie) guy was just standing around with his bags by his side. These three cops in full on SWAT gear charged at him and tackled him fricken hard to the concrete pavement, then dragged him, one cop on each arm, across the pavement and into an ambulance. It looked pretty damn brutal. If this guy was an American there would have been an outrage in the States, but Americans don't give a toss about anyone but themselves. God dammit Americans suck.

Psycho Chicken · 12-04-2005, 06:34 PM

What? Look at the photo on the news page, the guy is staring at three policemen with assault rifles and didn't figure out something is going on? If you were one of those cops what would you do? Anyone with half a brain would figure out the fact they aren't training.

He didn't listen to police and he was asking for the president. It seems he's innocent but no one knew that at the time.

In those situations you don't take chances.

SileNceR · 12-04-2005, 06:52 PM

who said he spoke english?

DivHunter · 12-04-2005, 07:09 PM

Shit I better never go to the US, I get pulled out for the random bomb tests by our security on domestic flights :dr_Evil: Seriously I'm not a terrorist, I'm a freedom fighter :evil_laug

Psycho Chicken · 12-04-2005, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SileNceR

who said he spoke english?

The article? The fact he asked for the president?

Assualt rifles are multilingual anyway.

LUXO_8 · 12-04-2005, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho Chicken

Assualt rifles are multilingual anyway.

hahaha
that they are!

M14A-Mclaren · 12-04-2005, 07:27 PM

I saw this on the news and they dragging the guy for ****ing ages, thats so sad to do that he didnt even do anything yet, pretty unfair, if it was a white guy standing there they probably wouldnt have dragged him that far and if it was some middle eastern they probably would have dragged them further. Bloody stupid.

Psycho Chicken · 12-04-2005, 07:29 PM

That would be to drag him out of range incase he had any radio detonators in his pockets.

LUXO_8 · 12-04-2005, 07:35 PM

exactly, what do ya want them to do? wait untill after he's blown the building to the ground, then go, but oh shit, we had the chance to pull him away but we didnt because its a little in-humane to grab someone and drag em?.

please, i reckon the did they right thing, the guy was just standin there like a idiot...who knows what he could have been doing...

neb · 12-04-2005, 07:44 PM

sounds fair enough to me

bafel · 12-04-2005, 10:30 PM

to follow this logic would be to remove all cars from young people, you know, "just in case".

Too many coffees from Starbucks me thinks.

Mike Gayner · 13-04-2005, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MADNC_8

exactly, what do ya want them to do? wait untill after he's blown the building to the ground, then go, but oh shit, we had the chance to pull him away but we didnt because its a little in-humane to grab someone and drag em?.

please, i reckon the did they right thing, the guy was just standin there like a idiot...who knows what he could have been doing...

He was no where near the god damn building!! He would have needed one HELL OF A BOMB to even damage that building, and his suitcases weren't that bloody big! I personally think he was treated extremely unfairly considering he did nothing wrong. And to top it all off they blew the shit out of his bags, destroying whatever was in them. Americans are just trigger happy cowboy morons.

Bucknaked · 13-04-2005, 06:37 AM

America is a pathetic country with pathetic people. They think they rule the world.

**Polyal** · 13-04-2005, 09:03 AM

Are you kidding he deserved it.

From what I saw on the news this is how it went:

- Man stands outside the building, not moving with two bags by his side demanding to see the President
- Man refuses to move even though SWAT or whoever they are repeatedly tell him to
- SWAT say bugger this, bitch is going down
- They "sneak" up behind him - bitch goes down hard..lol..did you see the whip lash!
- Man get dragged away
- They scan the bags, scan finds suspecious wires
- Mans bags are then blown up with some explosives..lol
- Wires etc are actually the guys CD player..hahaha
- end of storey, some fool in the background starts clapping and shouting out some crap like "Team America..f^%k yeah!"

Now, what was weird was that the guy must of know 3 blokes were running full pelt at him, even if it was from behind.

And what is worse is that when they blew up the suitcases, they had no protective barrier incase it was a bomb; that is the tell tail sign something is NQR.

Either way it was a ****er to see, and is probably Bush having a laugh.

Sourbastard · 13-04-2005, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Are you kidding he deserved it.

From what I saw on the news this is how it went:

- Man stands outside the building, not moving with two bags by his side demanding to see the President
- Man refuses to move even though SWAT or whoever they are repeatedly tell him to
- SWAT say bugger this, bitch is going down
- They "sneak" up behind him - bitch goes down hard..lol..did you see the whip lash!
- Man get dragged away
- They scan the bags, scan finds suspecious wires
- Mans bags are then blown up with some explosives..lol
- Wires etc are actually the guys CD player..hahaha
- end of storey, some fool in the background starts clapping and shouting out some crap like "Team America..f^%k yeah!"

Now, what was weird was that the guy must of know 3 blokes were running full pelt at him, even if it was from behind.

And what is worse is that when they blew up the suitcases, they had no protective barrier incase it was a bomb; that is the tell tail sign something is NQR.

Either way it was a ****er to see, and is probably Bush having a laugh.

What is more concerning is that if they were full of biological weapons material, they would have been released by John Wayne detonating the cases. Yee Haw. Team Amerika indeed.

**Chris** · 13-04-2005, 10:15 AM

Where was everyone on september 11?

i remember where i was when i heard the news.

If the nation is outraged, they have good reason to.

If they "over react" to a situation, i say its with the best of intentions.

once bitten...

smoo · 13-04-2005, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MADNC_8

exactly, what do ya want them to do? wait untill after he's blown the building to the ground, then go, but oh shit, we had the chance to pull him away but we didnt because its a little in-humane to grab someone and drag em?.

please, i reckon the did they right thing, the guy was just standin there like a idiot...who knows what he could have been doing...

Too right.

Anyone ever been to the Eiffel Tower?
The frogs have armed guards all over the place.

Buckingham Palace, snipers on the roof. Buckingham Palace FFS.

To all the people that think they over reacted, go to Windsor Castle, touch one of those guards in the red suit and see what happens.

Casper · 13-04-2005, 01:53 PM

Sorry, the guy was not an "innocent bystander". He tried the bluff and wound up on his ***. If he did the same thing in front of Spring Street he would probably have major lead poisoning now so I dont think they went over the top at all. Generally if cops started pointing assult rifles at me, regardless of what I'm doing at the time, I'd be inclined to lay down with my arms outstretched.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fairmont99

Shit I better never go to the US, I get pulled out for the random bomb tests by our security on domestic flights :dr_Evil: Seriously I'm not a terrorist, I'm a freedom fighter :evil_laug

Pfft, travel enough and you get pulled up heaps of times. I've been pulled up for a test around 30-40 times now. I just laugh and ask them what the current record is. They immediatly know you are a regular and get it over with quickly. Last time was in Perth and the guy doing it "wiped" me down and said if it came back positive he'd come find me at my gate as he didnt want to delay me. Good service I say

:

HOON69 · 13-04-2005, 10:07 PM

just so you's know i was going off the report (first report)
now it seems he was australian
of chinese origin
carrying two suitcases
asking twice for the president

first report was he didnt even mumble a word
second report is he asked for the president
third report is he asked twice

who knows with americans look at IRAQ they talked crap then and whats to say they aint now about the full details of this case?

everything to them is about terrorism,fair enough 9/11 sucked but they are the most hated country when it comes to racism/war etc(though doesnt mean they deserve it)

this dude went with a point to make a point with the president,now they havent charged him as he didnt commit a offence

(THEY SAID HE COMMITTED NO OFFENCE!)
YET they are holding him in custody as he breached his visa by making himself a nuisance (which infact is a crime in the U.S)
yet he's in jail without charge,imho should of been deported asap then(next flight as they call it)

yes the idiot tried a bluff didnt work etc now australia may look into charging him under some BS terrorism law
WTF!

its a joke
america is F'd the cops are trigger happy even before 9/11
and australia is america's B@TCH when it comes down to it..

dudes a idiot but since when do they need to go in like they did,they normally use robots for that type of job,idiot is gunna be butt plugged by media for weeks over this stupid act..

Sourbastard · 14-04-2005, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOON69

just so you's know i was going off the report (first report)
now it seems he was australian
of chinese origin
carrying two suitcases
asking twice for the president

first report was he didnt even mumble a word
second report is he asked for the president
third report is he asked twice

who knows with americans look at IRAQ they talked crap then and whats to say they aint now about the full details of this case?

everything to them is about terrorism,fair enough 9/11 sucked but they are the most hated country when it comes to racism/war etc(though doesnt mean they deserve it)

this dude went with a point to make a point with the president,now they havent charged him as he didnt commit a offence

(THEY SAID HE COMMITTED NO OFFENCE!)
YET they are holding him in custody as he breached his visa by making himself a nuisance (which infact is a crime in the U.S)
yet he's in jail without charge,imho should of been deported asap then(next flight as they call it)

yes the idiot tried a bluff didnt work etc now australia may look into charging him under some BS terrorism law
WTF!

its a joke
america is F'd the cops are trigger happy even before 9/11
and australia is america's B@TCH when it comes down to it..

dudes a idiot but since when do they need to go in like they did,they normally use robots for that type of job,idiot is gunna be butt plugged by media for weeks over this stupid act..

I think it comes down to what you can trust from the media. They routinely draw "FACTS" from "RUMOUR" on a daily basis. He asked for the president(According to "sources"). Doesnt even sound like a threat. He had suitcases, well, he was a tourist.

So his crime was, being a crazy bastard standing next to a building with two bags. And thats apparently a crime worth of deportation and being black listed. Rightio.

If the US arrested every crazy bastard they have there, the country wouldnt have enough people left to operate a deli on a busy day. While they are arresting crazy bastards... they should probably start with George Dubbya.

Homer1 · 14-04-2005, 10:00 AM

We would've done the same thing had the guy been standing in front of parliament house with 2 suitcases. They did what they needed to do to ensure everyone's safety. No need to call them crazy trigger happy fools; they didn't shoot the guy. You can't generalise every American as crazy cowboys just because the president is one.

460cixy · 14-04-2005, 10:47 AM

needed some one to make an example of i recon if thay were concerned about the blokes bags thay wouldent have just blown them up with out some sort of barrior . as for there news story tho the yanks cant lie straight in bed i got no time for them.

Tote · 14-04-2005, 01:10 PM

The treatment he got isnt much different to how the cops behave here anyway, the treatment you get for a minor infringement is MUCH stronger than in OZ. Get caught drink driving and it's put you in jail first and ask questions later. There is no presumption of innocence like you might expect in Australia, from reading the papers here its not uncommon to hear about people who have been proven innocent of a crime released after years in jail with no apologies.
I was going to post a link to the US press on the bloke who was arrested in Washington but that's old news, Britney's pregnancy was the front page news today. Should you need to gag here's a link to the swollen Ms Spears: http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/...regnancy_x.htm

Regards,
Tote