Hostage Drama @ Clinton's Campaign Office

[3113]

I don't even know what to say about this....

Hostage drama at Clinton office

Police have surrounded Hillary Clinton's campaign office in the city of Rochester, New Hampshire, after a man seized a number of hostages. Reports say four people have been freed, but it is unclear if there are other hostages still in the building.

Police have evacuated the area and there have been no reported casualties, although the man claimed to have a bomb strapped to his chest.

Mrs Clinton is at a Virginia party event and has had no part in the siege. Media reports said she cancelled a speech she was just about to make as news of the hostage crisis broke.

Police sent a tactical bomb unit and hostage negotiators to the scene. "The area is stabilised, we have resources available to us to handle the situation effectively and safely," said Rochester police department spokesman Capt Paul Callaghan.

The man first released a mother and her baby and later freed two volunteers, according to police....that the suspect is well-known locally, and has a history of emotional issues. Reports say he was depressed and may have been drinking heavily prior to the siege. He had told his stepson to watch the news, according to sources.

Local shopkeeper Lettie Tzizik told local television station WMUR TV: "A young woman... came rushing into the store just in tears, and she said: 'You need to call 911 - a man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape'."

The offices of rival presidential candidates Barack Obama and John Edwards have also been evacuated, and most of the city centre has been locked down. Mr Obama's office is on the same street as the Clinton campaign headquarters. Correspondents say that primary campaign offices in US provincial towns are often staffed by small numbers of volunteers and are easily accessible to the public.

New Hampshire is due to hold the first primary of the 2008 presidential election campaign in January, and all of the candidates are currently concentrating much of their campaigning efforts in the state.

 

[Belegon]

Saw this... heard that Hilary has been in touch with local and state authorities and is relying on their direction as to her role.

interesting situation to say the least.

 

[rgraham666]

I'm sad, but neither shocked nor surprised. I was waiting for something like this to happen.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

You know what may be the most depressing of all? Almost the first thing I thought of was to wonder if this might be a political stunt. I don't mean by the hostage taker, but by someone acting on behalf of the campaign . . .
There's just too much history associated with this crowd to dismiss the possibility outright.

(And I'm not even a Clinton hater - she's probably my least unfavorite among the Dems. Rudy's probably my least unfave among the R's.)

 

[3113]

Looks like it's over. Here's the latest:

A standoff with a man who walked into Hillary Clinton's campaign office wearing what looked like a bomb has ended with all the hostages released and the man's arrest, authorities said. Rochester police Captain Paul Callaghan confirmed the standoff was over but didn't immediately release any further information.

Clinton told the media at a Washington news conference that it had been a "very difficult day, personally and emotionally." She said she was "especially just relieved to have this situation end so peacefully without anyone being injured. I just could not be prouder of the people who are in my campaign."

Heavily armed police had blocked a four- to five-block area of this small city near the Maine border after the man walked into the office in the brick building on North Maine Street. The suspect was identified as Leeland Eisenberg by the website for Foster's Daily Democrat, a newspaper that covers the Rochester area. Several news organizations have reported that the suspect is a well-known local man in his 40s who is mentally ill, but Callaghan declined to confirm his identify. The police captain has lived in Rochester his entire life and said this was "one of the biggest things I’ve seen."

The man walked into the office at about 12:55 p.m. and prompted a response that included heavily armed police holding riot shields and wearing helmets and camouflage who arrived in an armored truck. Nearby businesses were evacuated, and a local elementary school was locked down. The response included the State Police bomb squad, a regional SWAT team, sheriff’s deputies, and agents from the FBI, Secret Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives....A law enforcement official who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak about the case told The Associated Press that authorities believed the device strapped to the man's chest was made with road flares, not a bomb.

Eisenberg made local headlines in March when he held a news conference on the steps of Rochester City Hall to complain about a police policy of placing fliers in unlocked cars warning motorists to lock their doors. "This is nothing more than a gimmick to get around the Constitution and go around in the middle of the night upon unsuspecting citizens in their own yard and search their vehicles," Eisenberg said.

Police, who said they were just trying to reduce theft from motor vehicles, changed the policy in response, the AP reported.

 

[3113]

I don't mean by the hostage taker, but by someone acting on behalf of the campaign . . .

That'd be a very stupid thing for anyone to do, even in "this crowd." If it got out that it was a stunt that would put an end to the campaign instantly. Now, of course, there's always a chance that someone on your side might do something really stupid to try and "help you out," but for the actual candidates to know and do something like this? Very, very, very stupid and way too chancy.

And Clinton, most especially, would be risking a lot being that she's already a front-runner. Why put that advantage on the line? If she was last in the polls, then I might think it, but if she's first? Nope.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

That'd be a very stupid thing for anyone to do, even in "this crowd." If it got out that it was a stunt that would put an end to the campaign instantly. Now, of course, there's always a chance that someone on your side might do something really stupid to try and "help you out," but for the actual candidates to know and do something like this? Very, very, very stupid and way too chancy.

And Clinton, most especially, would be risking a lot being that she's already a front-runner. Why put that advantage on the line? If she was last in the polls, then I might think it, but if she's first? Nope.

Right, right, true, true - at most a "Will no man rid me of this meddlesome priest?" kind of thing, and almost completely implausible even at that - the "almost" is the sad part.

 

[Liar]

I don't know what this says about me, but my first thought was "this would have made a kickass West Wing episode"...

 

[sr71plt]

You know what may be the most depressing of all? Almost the first thing I thought of was to wonder if this might be a political stunt. I don't mean by the hostage taker, but by someone acting on behalf of the campaign . . .
There's just too much history associated with this crowd to dismiss the possibility outright.

(And I'm not even a Clinton hater - she's probably my least unfavorite among the Dems. Rudy's probably my least unfave among the R's.)

That thinking seems a little warped to me. Conspiracies behind every tree. Watching too much TV, maybe?

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

That thinking seems a little warped to me. Conspiracies behind every tree.

How can I be sure you're not one of them?





BTW, I don't really think this was a conspiracy at all. It was just that little twinge that caused my comment. To be fair, at this level of politics the stakes are so high and the ambitions so frightenly intense that the same could probably be said for almost any candidate. This one just happens to have a record of dubious things that makes such twinges a bit more instantaneous.

 

[sr71plt]

How can I be sure you're not one of them?





BTW, I don't really think this was a conspiracy at all. It was just that little twinge that caused my comment. To be fair, at this level of politics the stakes are so high and the ambitions so frightenly intense that the same could probably be said for almost any candidate. This one just happens to have a record of dubious things that makes such twinges a bit more instantaneous.

I'm certainly one of "them." Since "them" isn't specified.

H. Clinton would probably be the second-to-the-last candidate I'd think would do this as campaign strategy. She's pretty much reaching directly and very openly for the golden ring. (McCain occurs as the least likely.)

 

[Stella_Omega]

Right, right, true, true - at most a "Will no man rid me of this meddlesome priest?" kind of thing, and almost completely implausible even at that - the "almost" is the sad part.

that "almost" is a media construct.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

I'm certainly one of "them." Since "them" isn't specified.

H. Clinton would probably be the second-to-the-last candidate I'd think would do this as campaign strategy. She's pretty much reaching directly and very openly for the golden ring. (McCain occurs as the least likely.)

McCain, huh? What is someone flashed the red queen before his eyes?


(I know, I'm positively evil with this stuff. )

 

[sr71plt]

McCain, huh? What is someone flashed the red queen before his eyes?


(I know, I'm positively evil with this stuff. )

Nah, I think he's Goldwater stubborn on something like this.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

The guy was supposed to go to MY campaign headquarters! It was a stunt to help MY struggling campaign!

Shitdamn! Another fifty bucks down the crapper. It seemed like a great idea, but it's really tough trying to work with the mentally ill.

 

[Lone_Quixote]

A disturbed man entered campaign headquarters claiming he had a bomb strapped about his middle and almost immediately began releasing hostages. In approximately the same time as it takes to sit through a major Hollywood feature, the affair was over without anyone blown up, shot, tasered, or even subjected to especially harsh language. Still, this event filled several hours of uninterrupted (except for commercials) and uninformed speculations by various newscritters and their special guest experts.

The only conspiracy happening was the open conspiracy that the major new media are loathe to miss any opportunity to fill their airwaves with meaningless action that can be interpreted as some inchoate threat to their viewers.

The criterion for what constitutes news has become so warped, that precious little information can get through the barrage of inconsequential but diverting incidents.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Pretty good description, Lone.

I haven't watched a TV newscast in years. Even the business channels are largley fluff and blather.

Give my best to Sancho.

 

[Lone_Quixote]

A disturbed man entered campaign headquarters claiming he had a bomb strapped about his middle and almost immediately began releasing hostages. In about the same amount of time that it takes to sit through a major Hollywood feature, the affair was over without anyone blown up, shot, tasered, or even subjected to especially harsh language. Still, this event filled several hours of uninterrupted (except for commercials) and uninformed speculations by various newscritters and their special guest experts.

The only conspiracy happening was the open conspiracy that the major new media are loathe to miss any opportunity to fill their airwaves with meaningless action that can be interpreted somehow, in some way, as an inchoate threat to their viewers.

The criterion for what constitutes news has become so warped that precious little information can get through the barrage of inconsequential but diverting incidents.

 

[TE999]

A disturbed man entered campaign headquarters claiming he had a bomb strapped about his middle and almost immediately began releasing hostages. In about the same amount of time that it takes to sit through a major Hollywood feature, the affair was over without anyone blown up, shot, tasered, or even subjected to especially harsh language. Still, this event filled several hours of uninterrupted (except for commercials) and uninformed speculations by various newscritters and their special guest experts.

The only conspiracy happening was the open conspiracy that the major new media are loathe to miss any opportunity to fill their airwaves with meaningless action that can be interpreted somehow, in some way, as an inchoate threat to their viewers.

The criterion for what constitutes news has become so warped that precious little information can get through the barrage of inconsequential but diverting incidents.

Is there an echo in here?

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Is there an echo in here?

Don't know what you're talking about . . .

Pretty good description, Lone.

I haven't watched a TV newscast in years. Even the business channels are largley fluff and blather.

Give my best to Sancho.

 

[slyc_willie]

Was it ever confirmed if the man had a bomb strapped to his chest?

 

[3113]

"Will no man rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

Heh. Love this quote.

 

[3113]

my first thought was "this would have made a kickass West Wing episode"...

You're right. Shame the show's off the air.

 

[Lisa Denton]

Was it ever confirmed if the man had a bomb strapped to his chest?

I think he just had a missile in his pocket.

When I first saw this I thought it was a joke about Bill, you know, the suspect turns out to be the billybomber or something.

Glad everyone is ok.

Its a crazy world out there.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Was it ever confirmed if the man had a bomb strapped to his chest?

Road flares.
Eisenberg said he had mental problems and couldn't get anyone to help him.