Suspect of Threats against White House Arrested after Standoff

A man suspected of making threats against the White House was pulled from his car Thursday after an hours-long standoff in the parking lot of the Federal Building in West Los Angeles.

Photo: Suspect of Threats against White House Arrested after Standoff

Suspect of Threats against White House Arrested after Standoff

The man had refused to leave his red Volkswagen Beetle and withstood four rounds of chemical agents tossed inside the car after police broke a rear window. About an hour later, officers shot out the drivers window with a bean bag gun, used a Taser on the man and pulled him out, The Associated Press reports.

The man, who authorities identified as Joseph Moshe, 56, of Westchester, initially fled from U.S. Secret Service agents who had attempted to arrest him near his home. Moshe fled in his bright red Volkswagen Beetle and parked in front of the Federal Building. Local and federal authorities feared at first that the car might contain explosives and boxed the vehicle in with police cruisers and an armored vehicle.

The Federal Building was locked down and hundreds of people were prevented from leaving the scene as the standoff wore on for hours.

The confrontation reached a climax when police used a robot to shatter a rear window and filled the car with tear gas repeatedly. Though officers expected Moshe to bail out of his car, he remained seated behind the steering wheel, The Los Angeles Times reports.

Meanwhile, one neighbor told reporters that Moshe "had issues." Another told The Daily Breeze that Moshe is usually "harmless" until "he goes off his meds."

The man's 90-year-old mother told reporters her son was "depressed," KNX1070 reports.