Overview
- A white sedan struck the staffed vehicle gate at the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office around 2:40 a.m. on Sept. 17, the driver draped an American flag on the damaged gate, and fled on foot with no injuries reported.
- Donald Henson was apprehended several hours later and now faces federal counts including assault with a deadly weapon and damaging government property.
- According to the affidavit, Henson admitted he intended to “make a statement” and used the phrase “sic semper tyrannis” in statements to agents.
- A bomb squad found no explosives; investigators are examining writing seen on the vehicle and say Henson had visited the office weeks earlier to make an incoherent complaint.
- Officials offered conflicting characterizations of the case, with one FBI official calling it an “act of terror” and a bureau spokesperson later saying it is not being treated as a terrorism case.