2008 Hostage Situation at Clinton Campaign Office in New Hampshire
posted by November 30 at 11:09 AM
onDeveloping, via MSNBC:
ROCHESTER, N.H. - A man took an unknown number of people hostage at a New Hampshire campaign office for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, police said Friday.The man claimed to have a bomb strapped to him when he walked into the office in Rochester, WHDH-TV reported.
Hillary Clinton is not in the area. She was at the DNC Fall meeting in D.C. today and canceled her planned speech there after news of the hostage situation broke. Live video here.
UPDATE: The man is reportedly demanding to speak with Hillary Clinton.
UPDATE: First statement from the Clinton campaign:
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: Reports that the two hostages have been released.
UPDATE: ABC News has more on the suspect:
The suspect was a well-known local man with history of emotional issues who told his son to watch the news, a well-placed law enforcement source told ABC News’ Pierre Thomas.
UPDATE: With the hostages reportedly released, some thoughts: Obviously, what happens to the hostage-taker is still unknown, as is exactly what he wanted or who he is. But it’s safe to say that close attention will be paid to how Clinton herself handled this moment. There are loose echoes of Bush on 9/11: Clinton about to give a public speech as reports of a dangerous situation trickle in, the media clamoring for a reaction and more information, many Americans following the event live on television (or online).
Her response, as reported so far, seems likely to play well. Clinton canceled her speech and headed to her Virginia campaign headquarters to monitor the situation. Her campaign quickly put out a statement that acknowledged the situation and said the campaign was in close contact with state and local authorities. Already, the image this creates is a sharp contrast to Bush on 9/11. Clinton reacted quickly, communicated quickly, and then headed to a place where she could best help respond to the situation.
UPDATE: It’s 12:40 PST. WMUR reports that authorities will hold a press conference at the scene in a few minutes. It’s also now unclear whether one or both hostages were released. That should be cleared up at the press conference.
UPDATE 1:45 PST: Capt. Paul Callaghan of the local police department says during the press conference: “This is a hostage situation.” That would seem to indicate that there is still at least one hostage. But, confusingly, Capt. Callaghan also said: “I want our residents to know that the situation has stabilized.” And: “The situation is still fluid.” Capt. Callaghan was asked if he had been in touch with Sen. Clinton. “We have been in touch with a lot of various people,” he said.
UPDATE 2:55 PST: There’s a name floating around for the suspected hostage-taker: Leeland Eisenberg from Somersworth, N.H.
UPDATE 3:15 PST: WMUR reports that the suspect has surrendered and the last hostage, a young man, has been released. The standoff lasted more than five hours.
Comments
Wow. This will be great for her numbers. Especially if he's some kind of queer-hating gun-toting Jesus freak or something.
If I didn't know better, I'd think it was planned.
I bet it's Andrew Sullivan.
It's gotta be some gun-toting misogynist Jesus freak. I'm kind of surprised that this type of thing isn't happening more often, considering the boundless rancor that conservative America displays toward Hillary.
My guess is it's Dick Cheney.
I hope they ship him to GITMO for some 24/7 waterboarding once they get him.
Come on Obama, STOP THIS NOW, you are gaining on her. No need for violence...
This is going to turn into a horrible tragedy, and you people cracking jokes are going to be really embarrassed. I'm going to enjoy rubbing it in when that happens. This sort of tragedy is a good opportunity for me, in that sense.
Rub it in all you want. Nobody cares.
This is hilarious.
I'd bet y'all five bucks the Looney was a Republican, but I doubt anyone would take that bet.
My question is, does he believe in Evolution, or is he descended from a white race that moved to America and buried golden tablets that you need special rose colored glasses to read?
Yeah. Probably not.
Huckabee supporters, no doubt. You think that crack about sending her to Mars was a joke?
this is an opportunity, of course. hillary's reaction will be scrutinized, but if she is really a good leader (which i believe she is), then her response will demonstrate this.
so it will be good for her, and bad for my obama.
Obama's office has been closed as a precaution.
If she really wants to get the Republican vote, all she has to do is shoot him in the face.
This kind of shit will be a daily occurrence if she becomes president, thanks to her popularity among the violent whackjob set.
Which isn't a reason not to vote for her, just a reason to make sure the Secret Service is really well-funded come 2009.
Maybe he just wants to fuck her.
@15 - that's exactly what I thought. Actually, I have this sinking feeling we'll hear about a bunch of right-wing white guys shooting up fast food restaurants and the like if Hillary wins.
Thank the Republicans for the years they've spent lowering the level of public dialogue.
I blame the Paultards.
HRC will handle this situation perfectly and will stop the Obama mo. Hil will be the D nom.
Amelia! I am shocked! What guy in his right mind would want to fuck Hillary? Oh, that's right... he's crazy.
Yeah, closed as a precaution against letting Hillary get all the press off this deal.
Edwards has done the same thing. Psh. They're trying to steal her thunder. Fags.
If it does turn into a tragedy, it will be even better for her numbers, assuming she comes off as compassionate and such. It could endear her to certain groups of American women who seem to hate her...
All of the women who hate her are going to vote for her, anyway.
He's released two hostages. What a pussy.
It's not that "don't taze me, Bro" loser, is it?
'cause he's not going to appreciate some lesser-famous loser cuttin' in on his loser thunder.
media stunt?
ie: she can deal with dangerous situations that come out of nowhere...
ie... 9-11??
If this is a media stunt, it sucks ass. This is totally boring as hell. What's the point in strapping a bomb to your chest, even a fake bomb, and marching in to a building if you're not going to kill anybody? Why let people go? You need them, you idiot. Jesus Christ.
@ 26:
"media stunt?"
ie: typical tool dumbass comment. pfft!!
Anyone know where Paul, Kucinich, and Gravel were at the time?
"Already, the image this creates is a sharp contrast to Bush on 9/11."
And yet, Bush managed to get his sorry ass reelected anyway.
I'll grant that so far Hillary has handled this well, but I think it's premature to speculate that it will make any difference in elections.
i hope she doesn't decide to talk with the hostage taker. i just don't want to see that.
Why are we worried about terrorism abroad, when we have so much here? Oh, yeah, I forgot: they're called the Christian Right and they're rich. Others refer to them as "the base".
mike D: are you saying a man known to have issues is a representative of the Christian Right, and that terrorism of this nature is a significant problem in america today? ... okay?
Oooo Coverage will continue on "The Situation Room"! This is just the sort of think Wolf Blitzer and his wall of TV's were made for.
I really need some weed...
I think this is a perfectly good pretext for invading Iran.
Time to get tough on the homegrown Red Bushie terrorists and ship them to GITMO to be waterboarded 24/7.
Our nation's democracy is in peril.
@35 - um, don't you think we should try Iceland? The girls are prettier and they have geothermal power and hydrogen fueling stations ...
Somebody needs to award NapoleonXIV for his comments. They're always delicious.
MSNBC is saying that the hostage takers son is talking. He says the thing this crazy nut has strapped to his chest is not a bomb, it's road flairs.
While yours have earned you permanent Troll status, Mr. Poe.
Duh.
Hey, road flares are pretty dangerous! Have you ever seen the spikes on those things? Plus, they... well... flare. You could probably burn someone if you stood close enough.
I been using the Innernet tubes since before you was a pup, Poe.
Amelia-
Any straight guy who says he wouldn't bang Hillary is lying. Most guys would slip it to Bea Arthur or Ruth Buzzy if they had a slow Thursday night to kill and they knew their buddies wouldn't find out.
I remember when we had to push the 1's and 0's through by hand at 110 baud.
@44 - exactly. The problem is women usually think men have standards.
We have standards about who we'll marry. But, given enough alcohol, everything else is negotiable.
1's and 0's? Hah! Try passing vacuum tubes through an exchange operator--they *always* got them out of order!
Has anyone accused Hillary of playing the "hostage card" yet?
i have to agree with will on that.
and @48, i believe @26 is basically a form of that card.
The last time Rochester -- where my dad lives -- was in the national news, it was when the local Episcopalian church (my dad's, in fact) protested NH's gay bishop.
Good job, Dad, you've picked the one town in NH that makes the rest of the state look normal.
I remember using the oscilliscope on the vacuum tubes and soldering the boards by hands, but I didn't want to scare the kidlings, @47.
Let's hope they get a good sniper to deal with this loonie.
CNN is going to talk to Pastor Rick Warren about how Jebus can help rescue hostages!
Maybe he can drive his Mack truck in there and talk about the roads package?
Wow. Itself a relief that's over.
Five hours taken hostage by a libertarian?
Had he pulled out a copy of The Fountainhead and started reading, I'd have detonated the flare vest myself.
Well, now that we have come to the tragic end of the horrific events, I think it's time to admit I was right. Only then can the healing begin.
BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!1!
@54 - oh, sorry, for a sec there I thought you said "taken hostage by a librarian" ...
CLRP!!
creeepy librarians for ron paul!!!
Things like this are why neither he nor his followers should be allowed to have blimps.
You had Oscilloscopes? If *we* wanted to access the internet, we had to bang on the side of our computers in Morse Code! With rocks!
HLDK !!!!
Hot Librarians for Dennis Kucinich..
I think M has the better viewpoint, and it's closer to what I was thinking about librarians. ... unless they're libertarian librarians, which is not as hot.
Knock it off...this man is ill and it is fortunate nobody was physically hurt.
That is a credit to law enforcement technology in New Hampshire. We need to get to such Americans as the suspect here with the help they need from time to time before they get to the rest of us.
Mental illness is the last frontier in a country that spent more money last year on losing weight than the Federal government spent on developing ways to prevent tragedies involving the mentally ill.
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