A deranged Florida man faces up to a year in federal prison after trying to break into a U.S. Air Force base carrying an AR-15 rifle and claiming to be Captain America, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Baruch Roche, 33, was indicted on one count of attempted possession of a firearm in a federal facility for the Nov. 3 stunt at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, he said in a news release. the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Roche, of Tampa, drove up to the base gate in a green Hyundai Genesis shortly after 2 p.m. and demanded entry, saying he had a meeting with senior Air Force officials “to provide top-secret information.”
But the crazed man refused to provide identification and “instead identified himself as ‘Captain America,’” according to the indictment.
He allegedly claimed that he was an “active member” of the United States Operations Command, or SOCOM, and that he had a meeting scheduled with a general in the group, according to the indictment.
MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, is home to more than 12,000 active duty personnel. AFP via Getty Images
“Roche became confrontational and threatened to return every day to find the officers who were denying him entry,” prosecutors said in the news release. “Due to his suspicious behavior, Roche was detained and security personnel searched his vehicle.
“An AR-15 rifle was located in the trunk, as well as five magazines loaded with 125 cartridges.”
Tampa police officers, along with the department’s Behavioral Health Unit, responded to the base and questioned Roche, who told officers “that he has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and takes medication for ADHD,” according to the indictment.
Federal prosecutors said Baruch Roche identified himself as “Captain America” when he tried to enter MacDill. ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Roche was involuntarily hospitalized under Florida’s Baker Act, which authorizes forced treatment for people experiencing a mental health crisis.
MacDill Base has more than 12,000 active-duty troops and is home to more than two dozen military units, including those of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and the 927th Replenishment Wing. Aerial, according to its home page.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn