ABC News reported that on Sep. 17, at 2:40 a.m., a Penn Hills man purposely crashed his white sedan into the FBI building gate in Pittsburgh. Hours after the crash, Donald Henson was apprehended.
After examining Henson’s driver’s license, the FBI was able to figure out that he was previously in the military. This may have affected his mental health, causing him to do this.
FBI Special Agent in Charge, Christopher Giordano, states that there was “some vulgarity” scribbled on Henson’s car. Giordano thinks this may have been a suicidal reference. Giordano also explained that Henson previously made a complaint to the office a few weeks ago. He said the complaint “didn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
After Henson crashed the vehicle, he exited the car. Followed by putting an American flag on the gate, which he got from his trunk. Nakeisha Brown, who works in close proximity to the FBI building, states, “I thought it was a gun, but it happened to be a flag, and he just set it on that fence and started yelling out some words and just took off.”
Sarah Esposito, FBI Special Agent in Charge, states, “Donald Phillip Henson was later apprehended by law enforcement and admitted to the FBI that he rammed the Sidney Street Gate to ‘make a statement.’ He stated ‘Sic semper tyrannis,’ which is a Latin phrase meaning ‘thus always to tyrants.’”
Fox News states that during Henson’s confession, he quoted Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
The FBI was not able to charge this as a federal crime, even though they look at it as a targeted crash. Henson was made aware of this. The situation is still being investigated.
According to Officer.com, no one was injured. Officials are still unaware if Henson was armed.
