AS IS HIS FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT

The officer made contact with the driver, who was identified as 27-year-old Glenn Neff of Stuart, Fla., and found the vehicle to be loaded with fireworks. The Jeep had also been fitted with a turret and multiple PVC tubes from which fireworks could be shot out of. Police said Neff told them he didn't want to hurt anyone and wanted to ignite the fireworks on the National Mall to draw attention to himself and issues he had with the banking industry.

(Thanks to Bill Hudgins, who notes that this person already has a Florida license.)

Comments

[Elon]

He certainly drew attention to himself.

[Braniff]

OT/ Did anyone else feel that earthquake a few minutes ago? We felt it up here in NYC, even though the epicenter was in Virginia. /

[AH]

"...from which fireworks could be shot out of."

This phrase started out promising, but I'm left uneasy by the ending. Couldn't it have been "...from which fireworks could be shot"?

Mr Grammar-person, care to comment?

[Mitch]

The capitol policemen are such party poopers.

[nursecindy]

o/t and typed with shaky hands. We just had an earthquake! This is very unusual for us. I hope wiredog and others located in Washington DC, Virgina, and N.C. are okay. It scared the h3ll out of me. back o/t

[Braniff]

OT/ NC: we felt it in NYC. People in some of the high-rises are standing outside. /

[Elon]

Awesome. I move to the earthquake capitol of the world and not a tremor. Meanwhile, Cindy get a quake!! And had I stayed where I was, I would have felt it. Just great.

Glad you're ok. Watch out for aftershocks.

[Elon]

Cindy, I take back my sarcasm. this could be serious.

'Minutes after the quake, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, Marcia McNutt -- who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office -- cautioned that the shaking might not be over.

“What the concern is, of course, is that this is a foreshock. If it’s a foreshock, then the worse is yet to come.”'

Maybe you should prepare to duck?

[nursecindy]

I lived in earthquake country, the Philippines, for 3 years and hated every earthquake we had. I thought I was safe here in N.C.! I hope this one is all we'll have but usually there are aftershocks. I'm glad everyone is okay.

[Guin]

Earthquake in downtown Boston! So weird! My plant started waving around like a fan was blowing on it. The end is near!

[Guin]

I feel like I've been on a boat and my ears are popping.

[PirateBoy]

Quake stuff:

More on the quake, from someone who works within 100 yards of the largest fault in California (Me!):

Whenever you have a quake larger than a magnitude 3 or 5, there is a guarantee that you will have at least one, if not many more, aftershock which will be at least 50% the strength of the original quake. That danger zone will last for at least the next 8 hours.

Be careful, everyone!

[wiredog]

Man. Lunatic terrorists, earthquakes, a hurricane coming in to town, we're just getting hammered here in DC. I wonder what's going on? I know! It's the Flying Spaghetti Monster! He's coming and he's pissed! Or maybe Cthulhu is finally rising to enslave humanity! Or perhaps I should've skipped the second burrito last night. Just sayin'.

Dammit! My surfboard is in Ocean Pines, so I won't be able to ride the tsunami up the Potomac!

Hay! If we blame the President, does that mean the earthquake happened on the Obama Fault?

[Jeff Meyerson]

Yes, we felt it. It was weird but I immediately knew what it was, while my wife was thinking she had vertigo and everyone else was saying "did you feel that?" The light fixtures were shaking back & forth and the wall I was leaning against felt like it was rolling.

Then there were people out on the Avenue discussing what just happened.

First there was a tornado in Brooklyn and now this.

[MikeyVA]

We just had an earthquake!

THIS JUST IN!

Maxine Waters says, "That earthquake can go to hell."

Jimmy Carter blames Israel and Clinton says,"I did not have sex with that earthquake, not even once."

[Not My Usual Alias]

Might have felt in in Chicago. At that time, the lights flickered. I thought it was lightning, but I didn't hear anything.

[Spiny Norman]

There was also a magnitude 5.3 quake in Colorado last night.

Interesting...

[Sue]

http://jmckinley.posterous.com/dc-earthquake-devastation

A picture of the devastation.

[Guin]

snork @Sue

[Jeff Meyerson]

NMUA: a friend said it was felt in Milwaukee, so you could be right.

[fivver]

Myth: Animals can sense the onset of earthquakes.

Test: Three cats and a dog and not one of them even woke up while the dishes were chattering.

********BUSTED*********

[Jeff Meyerson]

Sue's link.

[marebear]

To AH, all the way at the top:
it should have been left as: from which fireworks could be shot. The author obviously is used to speaking rather than writing, was going to go with ending in a preposition, then thought better of it, then left it on the end anyway. There were several other errors in there, too. It makes me very sad that so few "professionals" care about proper grammar anymore.
To all the people dealing with the earthquake-I'm glad you're all okay. My sister is in Denver and (luckily) didn't feel the one last night, and I'm too far south (Tampa) for the one today. Let's hope this is just some incredibly weird coincidence, because I'm not really ready for the end of the world (although it would get me out of paying off those student loans...).

[nursecindy]

Is it selfish for me to hope that the earthquake knocked Hurricane Irene out to sea and away from N.C.? Loved the link Sue. Also I would like to mention that I got an email from a blog guy right after our earthquake and he said, "Did the earth move for you too?" Men.

[Theresa]

I just read that there was an earthquake. I am glad to see that everyone on here sounds okay. Just a little shaken.

[MikeyVA]

Men indeed, NC - Can't live with 'em, Can't shoot 'em.

[bonmot]

The Obama administration has determined the epicenter of the earthquake fell on "Bush's Fault".

[Braniff]

So fivver: your animals were shaken, not stirred?

[Horace LaBadie]

Was it good for you?

[hogsatemysister]

Aftershocks normally happen AFTER an election. This does not bode well. But I like the guy's tubes. Did he also invent the internets?

[sandy]

long island jacuzzi update:

shaken, not stirred

[sandy]

...and lol @ sue's link!

[Jeff Meyerson]

cindy, they are trying very hard to convince us we need to WORRY NOW about the hurricane maybe- possibly hitting somewhere in the immediate area or close by or somewhere vaguely near us on Sunday, or at least so they are fervently hoping.

So I'd advised all Long Islanders to throw your lawn furniture in the pool NOW just in case.

[OC Dolphin]

Folks who live over in California consider building arks whenever the rain nudges above 2 inches, while folks out east dash outside like Chicken Little over a boat boarding sway of a 5.8.

Amusing!

[sandy]

@jeff: done

@ all: join me for a post earthquake/pre-hurricane Blog Grog

[Sue]

Thanks - it was a payback for Dave's Oscar Weinermobile teenager-pick-up-from-school post.

http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/2007/06/attention-all-u.html

[Wingnut]

My goodness. First we whine about a little earthquake, then we start in on a little storm over the Atlantic. I swear, some people just think it is all about them. Next they'll be unhappy just cause they are without electricity for a few days.

[Loudmouth]

I've been in NoVA all my life and never experienced an earthquake. It was weird. The 238 yr. old church I was visiting had a couple of cracks in the plaster, and the crystal chandeliers swung around like crazy. Some stonework fell off the Nat Cathedral. On the whole, the earth moved, but wasn't bad. This is, however, the capital of the Drama Queens and the government will no doubt be closed for the next 3 days.

[nursecindy]

Loudmouth did the earthquake occur right after you entered the church? If so that could explain a lot.

[Afkat]

Many of us in Canada felt the earth move today. Oh, and we also felt the earthquake too.

[Renee (the First)]

"From which fireworks could be shot out of"? Who wrote this story, Damon Runyon?

[wiredog]

I was baptized in the National Cathedral. Amazingly, (or not, considering) no one was hurt when big chunks of stone fell off the roof.

[Richard the Weasel-Hearted]

No worries, NC. Having grown up in Japan, and having been about 30 miles from the 6.9 Loma Prieta quake when it hit, this was a snoozer.

Speaking of that, I take it you slept through the little one we had 13 months ago, Loudmouth?

[nursecindy]

I lived in the Philippines(Clark AFB)for several years and we had some really strong earthquakes there Richard. At first I thought it was my dog then I realized she was outside. This wasn't a bad earthquake but did remind me of why I didn't miss the Philippines. We had some major quakes the last few years I lived in the P.I. Probably because we lived close to Mt. Pinatubo which erupted not long after I left and destroyed the entire base. Our local news was interesting tonight. "Carolina's feel earthquake! Carolina's get ready for Hurricane Irene!" I'm seriously thinking of moving somewhere safe like Nebraska. Or Miami!

[Elon]

Cindy, um, isn't Nebraska in, er, tornado country?

[Loudmouth]

Yeah, RWH, I remember all the blather about the quake last year, but I never noticed it. It was centered around about the same place. The towns closer took a hit with a lot of damaged buildings. My daughter went to Kings Dominion amusement park, only about 10 miles from the center and said she never felt a thing because they were probably on a roller coaster. EEEYIKES!

[MikeyVA]

Loudmouth,

It was pretty scary here near Dulles, but no damage. I thought it was a low flying helocopter since they go over my house to land at Dulles and they make the same shaking as they come in, but this was different.

Phones went out for about 30 minutes. Of course, living here you know what happens when they predict 1/4 inch of snow! The local stroes get runs on TP, bread and milk.

The traffic was the major headache since everyone wanted to get onto 66 at the same time and it wasn't even 4:00 PM yet!

My dogs just stood there and looked at me like, "Did YOU do that? AWESOME!"

[oldfatguy]

Avoid earthquakes. Just move to Texas where it is 9000 degrees for 962 days a year. sorry, heat getting to me. We have been hoping for a hurricane in the gulf to blow some of this heat out. glad no one was hurt in shaking. Oops just remembered we have been having "mild" earthquakes the past couple of years.

[Loudmouth]

cindy, I visit a lot of churches in the course of my business and haven't caused one apocalypse yet.

[queensbee]

well, i was busy, so didnt get to the blog much yesterday. we felt that earthquake here in albany, and i can tell you, from people who experienced 911, as well as some natural disasters, like that blackout a couple yrs ago, i think we are just a little jumpier here on the east coast. although our west coast brethren made sport, because a 5.8 quake just aint nothing to write home about. but if you work in a tall downtown office bldg, like i do, and everything starts to shake for about half a minute....well, ya gets yer behind out of the bldg until someone says, OK, back to work, doggies.

[Ralph]

"...Bulletin -bulletin-bulletin-bulletin-bulletin . . .
The SUN did not COME UP this morning!! HUGE CRACKS
have appeared in the EARTH'S SURFACE!! BIG ROCKS
are falling out of the SKY!! Details later on Action Central News...."

-- George Carlin, Wonderful WINO

[nursecindy]

George Carlin was right! Our local news will say something like, "What is lurking in your refrigerator that could be deadly? Details at 11 p.m." Of course they say that right when you're getting ready to eat supper. I've learned the answer is usually something that includes turkey as an ingredient.

[bonmot]

How does anyone ever get Lasik in California?