By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 7, 2008

A man drove a pickup with a snowplow into a gate at CIA headquarters in McLean and threatened to detonate a bomb before being taken into custody by shotgun-carrying CIA officers, according to court documents and law enforcement officials.

Antoine Lowery, 30, of the District appeared in U.S. District Court in Alexandria yesterday on a felony charge of making a bomb threat in the Feb. 22 incident. A judge ordered him detained pending a hearing Wednesday.

An affidavit said Lowery's speeding white Chevrolet pickup left the George Washington Memorial Parkway onto Dolley Madison Boulevard about 1:55 p.m. and crashed into the gate, causing the metal barrier to swing open. "Due to concerns for the safety of CIA personnel and my own safety," wrote CIA police officer Robert Ellis, "I grabbed a shotgun, aimed the weapon at the driver . . . and gave him strong verbal commands to turn the vehicle off and exit the car."

Lowery left the truck and made a series of threats, including "the truck is going to blow up" and "I have a bomb," Ellis wrote. Lowery also counted down from five several times as if waiting for an explosion, the court papers said. As it turned out, there was no bomb, and the scene was declared safe after the CIA closed the ramps to the parkway.

Lowery had not been appointed an attorney yesterday, and law enforcement officials said his possible motives were unclear. Although Lowery was immediately taken into custody after the incident, he was released before being charged Feb. 26. It was unclear why he was not arrested until yesterday.

Paul Gimigliano, a CIA spokesman, said in a statement yesterday that the CIA's security measures "worked exactly as they should have."

"There was no violence, and -- beyond a gate that was closed for a time -- no real impact on agency headquarters," he said.

Lowery faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.