Police: Hostages taken at Clinton campaign office

[miami_fan]

From CNN

CNN) -- Two people are being held hostage by an armed man at Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign office in Rochester, New Hampshire, police said Friday.

The man walked into the office at about 1 p.m., Maj. Michael Hambrook of the New Hampshire State Police told CNN affiliate WMUR-TV.

Hambrook and Clinton campaign officials said two people were believed to be inside.

Shortly before 2 p.m., police officers were gathered across the street from the office, some kneeling behind police cruisers with guns drawn. Watch police take up positions »

Witnesses described the man as in his 40s with salt-and-pepper hair, WMUR reported.

A woman and her baby were released by the hostage-taker, the woman told workers at a nearby business, according to the WMUR Web site.

A witness, Lettie Tzizik, told WMUR she spoke to a woman shortly after she was released from the office by the hostage-taker.

"A young woman with a 6-month or 8-month-old infant came rushing into the store just in tears, and she said, 'You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape,'" the Web site reported.

Bill Shaheen, chairman of Clinton's New Hampshire campaign, told WMUR that the people being held were volunteers.

"Hopefully, they're going to negotiate this so no one gets hurt," Shaheen said.

Clinton, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, is in the Washington area.

She was scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. at a Democratic National Committee event, but canceled the talk because of the situation, DNC Chairman Howard Dean said. Watch Dean break the news »

"Unfortunately as some of you know, there is a hostage situation in New Hampshire involving a Clinton campaign staff person," Dean told those who had gathered for the event.

"The details are sketchy at this time, but understandably Senator Clinton is now dealing with this very difficult problem and she is not going to be able to join us today. And we will keep them in our prayers and hope for a resolution to this situation in New Hampshire."

Buildings close to the storefront campaign office on Main Street were evacuated, including local campaign centers for Clinton's Democratic presidential rivals, Sen. Barack Obama and former senator John Edwards.

Cassandra Hamilton, who works in an office adjacent to the Clinton office, told WMUR: "I walked out and I immediately started running, and I saw that the road was blocked off. They told me run and keep going." E-mail to a friend

[st.cronin]

Get Sarkozy in there, stat.

[Butter]

She'll do anything for votes, won't she?

[rkmsuf]

She'll do anything for votes, won't she?

this is a serious issue. i damand miami fan delete this thread.

[Butter]

The alternative joke is, those Republicans will do anything to keep her out of office, won't they?

I debated on using either, but now I've used both.

Blame ksmurf.

[rkmsuf]

The alternative joke is, those Republicans will do anything to keep her out of office, won't they?

I debated on using either, but now I've used both.

Blame ksmurf.

hilary ever spit on anyone?

[st.cronin]

I demand that Hillary release these hostages at once.

[Passacaglia]

The alternative joke is, those Republicans will do anything to keep her out of office, won't they?

I debated on using either, but now I've used both.

Blame ksmurf.

I thought the best joke was that the guy probably thinks it would be too crazy to have a female President.

[Butter]

Hey, I didn't claim that either of mine were the "best". That is wholly subjective.

[Young Drachma]

She'll do anything for votes, won't she?

+1

It's sad and I do worry and hope no one is hurt and yet, to me it smelled like a huge rat from me when I first saw the article on CNN a minute ago.

[Honolulu_Blue]

+1

It's sad and I do worry and hope no one is hurt and yet, to me it smelled like a huge rat from me when I first saw the article on CNN a minute ago.

I am not following your "to me it smelled like a huge rat" commonet. So I understand you correctly, you're first thought when you saw this story on CNN was that this was some sort of stunt pulled by Clinton to boost her popularity? Really?

[rkmsuf]

I am not following your "to me it smelled like a huge rat" commonet. So I understand you correctly, you're first thought when you saw this story on CNN was that this was some sort of stunt pulled by Clinton to boost her popularity? Really?

if peyton manning's cousin gets blown up then it will be different

[JediKooter]

Is there a SNUKE involved?

[Young Drachma]

I am not following your "to me it smelled like a huge rat" commonet. So I understand you correctly, you're first thought when you saw this story on CNN was that this was some sort of stunt pulled by Clinton to boost her popularity? Really?

Yes, I did think that. Makes me a bad person? Don't care. That was the absolute first thought that came to mind to me. That it was some sort of political ploy.

And now that you ask, I still think that.

Crazy people are everywhere, sure. But this seems fishy to me. Do I think they deliberately planted someone? No.

But I doubt any candidate has every actually handed someone cash, a cigarette or booze for their votes either. But it happens every election day at voting booths across America.

Politics is a dirty game and smart people play it.

I said I hope no one gets hurt and that this is just some rogue, random instance that will never happen again.

And I wasn't trying to imply that Hillary had something to do with it, herself. But she doesn't have to.

[larrymcg421]

Yes, I did think that. Makes me a bad person? Don't care. That was the absolute first thought that came to mind to me. That it was some sort of political ploy.

And now that you ask, I still think that.

Crazy people are everywhere, sure. But this seems fishy to me. Do I think they deliberately planted someone? No.

But I doubt any candidate has every actually handed someone cash, a cigarette or booze for their votes either. But it happens every election day at voting booths across America.

Politics is a dirty game and smart people play it.

I said I hope no one gets hurt and that this is just some rogue, random instance that will never happen again.

And I wasn't trying to imply that Hillary had something to do with it, herself. But she doesn't have to.


You accused her and backtracked in the same post. That's pretty impressive. If that's not what you were trying to imply, you could have clarified, but instead you added +1 to a post that (jokingly, I assumed) directly implicated her.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Yes, I did think that. Makes me a bad person? Don't care. That was the absolute first thought that came to mind to me. That it was some sort of political ploy.

And now that you ask, I still think that.

Crazy people are everywhere, sure. But this seems fishy to me. Do I think they deliberately planted someone? No.

But I doubt any candidate has every actually handed someone cash, a cigarette or booze for their votes either. But it happens every election day at voting booths across America.

Politics is a dirty game and smart people play it.

I said I hope no one gets hurt and that this is just some rogue, random instance that will never happen again.

And I wasn't trying to imply that Hillary had something to do with it, herself. But she doesn't have to.

Well, there are also those who think 9/11 was an inside job by the Bush administration.

People think all kinds of things...

[SackAttack]

Not going to say that Clinton herself pulled any strings there. Heck, I think if it were a ploy in which she were involved personally, that she would have been in the campaign headquarters or somesuch to make it look like she heroically endured "for the people."

I mean, her workers facing the threat while she's "dealing with this difficult situation" from several states away doesn't seem all that likely to have much benefit for her.

I think it's likely to be either just what it looks like - a rogue nutcase - or an overzealous staffer flying solo to try and impress the boss with his or her initiative.

[ISiddiqui]

Well, there are also those who think 9/11 was an inside job by the Bush administration.

You know, I was thinking the exact same thing when reading DarkCloud's post.

[Desnudo]

Yes, I did think that. Makes me a bad person? Don't care. That was the absolute first thought that came to mind to me. That it was some sort of political ploy.

And now that you ask, I still think that.

Crazy people are everywhere, sure. But this seems fishy to me. Do I think they deliberately planted someone? No.

But I doubt any candidate has every actually handed someone cash, a cigarette or booze for their votes either. But it happens every election day at voting booths across America.

Politics is a dirty game and smart people play it.

I said I hope no one gets hurt and that this is just some rogue, random instance that will never happen again.

And I wasn't trying to imply that Hillary had something to do with it, herself. But she doesn't have to.

Shocker, but it's a random crazy guy

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071130/ap_on_re_us/clinton_office_hostages

Highlight:

"Eisenberg made local headlines in March when he held a news conference on the steps of Rochester City Hall to complain about a police policy of placing fliers in unlocked cars warning motorists to lock their doors.

"This is nothing more than a gimmick to get around the Constitution and go around in the middle of the night upon unsuspecting citizens in their own yard and search their vehicles," Eisenberg said.

Police, who said they were just trying to reduce theft from motor vehicles, changed the policy in response."

[JPhillips]

I always thought Hinkley was a plant by Roger Ailes.

[EagleFan]

So she wasn't in THAT office..... dammit!!! :D