November 30, 2007
Hostage Situation At Clinton's N.H. Office Ends Peacefully
New Hampshire TV station WMUR is reporting that an armed man has taken people hostage at Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign office in Rochester, N.H. FOX News is reporting that the man claimed to have a bomb and walked into the office demanding to speak with the New York senator.
Clinton is scheduled to speak today at the DNC's fall meeting in Northern Virginia.
[UPDATE 2:03] Two campaign workers are being held hostage, WMUR reports. Police were alerted to the situation after the hostage-taker released a woman who was with her infant.
[UPDATE 2:06] The area surrounding the office is in lockdown and a nearby school is to be evacuated in a "soft lockdown" with buses on site in case an evacuation is ordered. You can watch WMUR's coverage here.
[UPDATE 2:14] Clinton has cancelled her speech at the DNC meeting, FOX News and CNN report. The former first lady's whereabouts are not being made public at the moment.
[UPDATE 2:22] FOX's "Campaign Carl" Cameron is reporting live from the passenger seat of a vehicle en route to the scene. Worth watching. He reports that the hostage-taker has something taped to his belly that he claims is a bomb.
[UPDATE 2:31] Barack Obama's nearby field office has also been evacuated, Politico reports.
[UPDATE 2:35] John Edwards' nearby office has also been evacuated, the Boston Globe reports. Hostage negotiators are on the scene.
[UPDATE 2:40] Per Clinton's campaign chairman and former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe, as reported by FOX's Major Garrett: The senator was in her Northwest Washington home prepared to head to the DNC meeting in Vienna, Va., when she got word that the volunteer staffers had been taken hostage. She immediately cancelled her speech. It appears she is still in Washington.
[UPDATE 2:52] Campaign Carl: This is the first time in U.S. electoral politics something like this has ever happened.
[UPDATE 3:12] Some follow-up questions for embedded reporters: Will the campaigns recalibrate security following this incident? Even if the hostage-taker turns out not to have a bomb on him, surely this will force the camps to think about how to prevent copycat and other such incidents. Political campaigns are run on the sweat and toil of volunteer campaign workers like those being held hostage right now. These little field offices -- Clinton has about 30 17 in New Hampshire alone, I believe -- encourage strangers to just pop in from off the street. Our NBC/NJ Granite State embed, Mike Memoli, says he has seen zero security precautions at the campaign offices in that state. I'm breaking a cardinal blogging rule and editing out the details per my editor, but I've also found that security is absolutely a non-concern in these offices.
If this unfolds without incident, the story probably goes away fairly quickly. If, heaven forbid, something goes wrong, the more high-profile candidates may have to re-examine how they do things.
[UPDATE 3:18] Clinton campaign statement: "There is an ongoing situation in our Rochester, NH office. We are in close contact with state and local authorities and are acting at their direction. We will release additional details as appropriate."
[UPDATE 3:21] Per CNN: Both hostages have been released, the suspect is still in the field office but police cannot confirm that he is alone. The crisis does appear to be over. Police are negotiating a surrender.
ABC News reports that the suspect is a "well-known local man with [a] history of emotional issues who told his son to watch the news."
[UPDATE 3:41] There's a little confusion as to whether all the hostages are out. WMUR/CNN report the two hostages were freed, but according to other accounts only one person was seen leaving the campaign office.
[UPDATE 3:45] AP via MSNBC: Three of the four original hostages (including the woman who was released with her child) are out, there is apparently one hostage remaining.
[UPDATE 3:50] Now WMUR is reporting on air that it "can't confirm" that all the hostages have been released or the number of hostages originally taken.
[UPDATE 4:01] Per MSNBC: Both former President Clinton and Sen. Clinton have canceled all public events today. Meanwhile, Republican Mitt Romney's campaign has asked its field offices to keep their front doors locked as a precaution.
[UPDATE 4:26] The suspect has been ID'd by a man who says he is a friend of the suspect's son, so I'll hold off on publishing his name for now. He's being portrayed as mentally ill. The Rochester PD was supposed to hold a presser half an hour ago and is running late.
[UPDATE 4:42] "This is a hostage situation."
[UPDATE 4:46] Pretty grim news. Based on unconfirmed reports, including ones about the suspect, this looked like a situation that had less to do with politics or Clinton herself and more with an unhinged individual looking for attention. That is probably still the case, only it looks like he may still be holding hostages, contrary to previous reports that all the hostages had been released.
"The situation is still fluid," said Capt. Paul Callaghan of the Rochester Police Department. "I want our residents to know that the area is stabilized, that we're very confident that we have the resources available to us to handle this situation effectively and safely."
Callaghan said it was "inappropriate" to disclose details of the situation, including the suspect's identity, how many hostages were still being held, and what weapon(s) the suspect was armed with.
"This is a hostage situation," Callaghan said at a press conference. "I cannot confirm the identity of the person that has taken these persons hostage."
The Rochester PD is working with other local PDs, the New Hampshire state police, the FBI, ATF and Secret Service, Callaghan said. The state police bomb squad was on the scene, but Callaghan would not say if police had been able to confirm that the suspect has a live bomb strapped to him as he claimed, according to a since-released hostage. Callaghan also wouldn't discuss the well-being of the woman who was released from the office about an hour-and-a-half ago, saying only "there are no reported injuries."
Investigators have "a lot of active leads," Callaghan added. "This is still a fluid investigation. We are investigating a hostage situation."
Asked by a reporter whether it was safe for local residents to return to their homes, Callaghan did not respond directly, saying only, "We have a secure perimeter of four or five blocks."
That's an indication police are concerned about some sort of explosive device. I should note that what Callaghan said does not necessarily mean the suspect is still holding hostages; he may be alone and threatening to take his own life with whatever device merits the bomb squad being on the scene. There is another name for the suspect being reported based on unconfirmed sources, which I'm not going to publish for the reasons cited earlier.
[UPDATE 5:09] Bad news if true: WMUR's sources say there are still two hostages in Clinton's office.
[UPDATE 5:15] Why I'm glad I left cable news: FOX and MSNBC are naming two different men as the hostage-taker based on unconfirmed reports.
[UPDATE 5:32] Looks like another hostage, also a young woman, has been released. She was escorted to a police car by a member of the SWAT team.
[UPDATE 5:41] If that woman was another hostage, which hasn't yet been confirmed by police, we're up to either five or six hostages total released today. There is some dispute on whether one or two women were released this afternoon. I have a feeling that some media outlets are counting the very first released hostage, the woman with the baby, twice. No way to know without police confirmation.
WMUR is reporting that there are two remaining hostages, and both are male. The hostage-taker is apparently still insisting on speaking with Clinton.
[UPDATE 6:30] The crisis appears to have ended peacefully, with the suspect surrendering to police. More details to come...
[UPDATE 6:55] The suspect, identified as Leeland Eisenberg, walked out of Clinton's campaign office, took off his sweater, and appeared to untie the explosive device he had apparently strapped to his torso. He then surrendered to the police, who arrested him immediately. The bomb squad sent out a robot and safely detonated the device. No word on whether it was constructed with flares, as had been reported earlier.
So, best possible outcome -- no one appears to have been hurt.
[UPDATE 7:05.] Clinton broke her silence on the situation to thank law enforcement officials and her campaign staff for their work and bravery today.
"I just could not be prouder of the people in my campaign," Clinton said, speaking to reporters in Washington. "I’m just so glad it ended well."
Clinton said today was "difficult" both "personally and emotionally," and that "talking to the families was probably the hardest part for me." She said she couldn't comment on the details of the situation and her involvement in the resolution. She is en route to the Rochester office to meet with the volunteers who were taken hostage.
That office, obviously, is shut down for at least today. The Edwards and Obama campaigns said their Rochester offices would also remain shuttered for the day.
[UPDATE 7:13] About the suspect: WMUR reports that Eisenberg was due in court today for a domestic violence hearing. Earlier reports indicated he had a recent history of mental health issues, was upset that his wife was divorcing him, and had been drinking heavily before he allegedly walked into Clinton's campaign office and unveiled a bomb.
After sitting on it all day out of concern for the hostages' safety, CNN is now reporting that Eisenberg phoned CNN employees several times to complain that he "had mental problems and couldn't get anyone to help him." If convicted, he will clearly get that help along with some jail time. There doesn't seem to be a political motive here at all; Clinton's campaign staff appear to have been the victims of her celebrity, not her platforms.
Another Rochester PD presser due any minute...
[UPDATE 7:28] A young man believed to be the final hostage was seen leaving the office moments before police arrested Eisenberg, WMUR reports. What I said earlier about there not being a political aspect to this story is wrong: Huffington Post spent much of today amassing damaging information on the wrong man. "HuffPo’s putting together a dossier on him, doubtless hoping against hope that something turns up to suggest he’s a conservative," Hot Air sneered.
[UPDATE 7:44] Police confirm the suspect is Eisenberg. WMUR's stream isn't working for me anymore; am watching on FOX and WBZTV.
[UPDATE 7:55] Eisenberg is being held on state kidnapping, reckless operation and criminal threat charges, and the decision to elevate to federal charges will be made later. Don't see how federal charges are avoidable in this instance. The "device" was indeed constructed with road flares, said Frederick Booth of the N.H. state police. Eisenberg was allegedly holding something in his hand to make the hostages believe the flares were part of a bomb.
There are a total of five hostages here: three staffers, one volunteer and the baby. The mother of that child, under one year of age, was allowed to leave after she alerted Eisenberg to the child's presence, Callaghan said. Law enforcement negotiated the release of the two women let go this afternoon, along with the release of the male hostage and Eisenberg's surrender.
Citing the ongoing investigation, officials would not disclose Eisenberg's motive. No one in Clinton's camp had any contact with Eisenberg; that decision was made by the hostage negotiating team.
"The hostages are now safe and with their loved ones," said N.H. Attorney General Kelly Ayotte. She declined to identify the hostages out of respect for their privacy.
Callaghan and Booth both praised Clinton for her cooperation and support during the ordeal, saying she offered her services to their fullest extent. This unfortunate incident really does appear to be wholly unrelated to her candidacy, though her campaign and others will likely review security procedures for their ground operations out of concern for copycats. That's it from me -- if anything major develops I'll update. Otherwise, see you on Monday.
Posted at 8:04 PM
Posted to:
Campaigns, Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, WH 2008
Share via
