Security scare at U.S. Capitol

WASHINGTON — A man who brought two suitcases to the U.S. Capitol and asked to see the president prompted a standoff yesterday that ended when police tackled him. They later blew apart one of his bags.

Authorities said the suitcases did not contain explosives and that no one was seriously injured in the incident, which halted tours and closed streets.

The man, a 33-year-old Australian citizen, had not been publicly identified last night. He had recently arrived in the United States, police said.

Investigators were expected to charge the man with disorderly conduct for allegedly failing to obey a police officer, top police officials said.

The standoff began about 12:40 p.m. when the man rolled two suitcases near the fountain on the west side of the Capitol, said Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer.

A uniformed officer noticed the man and tried to talk to him, Gainer said. "He was not very responsive or cooperative with the officer," he said.

Worried that the man might be a suicide bomber, the officer requested backup. Within minutes, tactical squads began shutting down traffic and prodding people away from the area.

The man then told police that he wanted to speak to the president, Gainer said.

An hour after the incident began, officers determined that the man did not have detonators in his hands or wires attached to the bags, Gainer said. He was then tackled and dragged away from the bags. The man and a police officer suffered minor cuts and bruises.

A few minutes later, investigators questioned him about the suitcases' contents, but he refused to cooperate, Gainer said.

"He said if we wanted to know what was in the suitcase, we'd have to open it ourselves," he said.

With hundreds of people watching, bomb-squad technicians X-rayed the bags. The results revealed that one suitcase might contain an explosive device because it contained wires, batteries and what appeared to be a timer, Gainer said.

After "disrupting" the bags with an explosive blast about 3:15 p.m., police determined that the bag contained nothing more than a CD player, batteries and a "watch or something," Gainer said.