PITTSBURGH (AP) — The man who rammed his car into a Pittsburgh FBI security gate and covered it with the American flag on Wednesday said he later did it to “issue a statement.”
According to the affidavit, Donald Philip Henson was captured seven hours after fleeing the crash, calling the Latin phrase “sic semper tyrannis,” “sic semper tyrannis,” “always a tyrant.” John Wilkes Booth is said to have yelled the phrase after shooting President Abraham Lincoln.
Henson, 46, of nearby Penn Hills, was charged with a fatal weapon and attack that damaged government property. He will remain in custody until a detention hearing is set on Tuesday.
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“This was a target attack on this building,” Christopher Giordano, assistant special agent for the FBI in Pittsburgh, told reporters. There were no injuries.
Details about his motivations and how he managed to escape were not immediately available.
The FBI was well versed in Henson. Henson said Giordano is a former member of the military. The public records list him as a Republican who voted in the 2024 general election. Messages left on the phone number linked to him were not immediately returned, and court records did not list the defense attorney.
“He came to the FBI Field Office a few weeks ago and filed a complaint that didn’t make much sense,” Giordano said.
He said the car seemed to have some sort of message on the side window but did not elaborate. The car, which is a white sedan, also appeared to have US Air Force stickers.
Investigators, including the bomb squad, discovered that there were no explosives during the collision.
According to the affidavit, security guards saw the vehicle getting off the street and knocking on the gate, but the driver thought he had a medical emergency. Officers were planning to leave the booth for an investigation, but when the suspect returned to the car for the flag, officers stayed inside in fear that they would regain their weapons.
In his bankruptcy filing last year, Henson said his student loan liability is $380,000, with little assets, a shuttered business called Insomnia Solutions, and earning $281 per month.
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Dale was reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack from Concord, New Hampshire also contributed.
