Clinton Hostage Suspect To Be Arraigned

December 3, 2007 1:04 p.m. EST

Rochester, NH (AHN) - The man who took hostages in Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) Rochester campaign headquarters last week is scheduled to be arraigned by video Monday afternoon in Rochester District Court on four counts of kidnapping, one count of using an explosive device, and one count of criminal threatening.

Leeland Eisenberg, 46, took three Clinton campaign staff members, a volunteer and a child hostage on Friday using what police said were road flares strapped to his chest. He had demanded to speak to Clinton about getting psychiatric help after seeing one of Clinton's campaign ads on health care, according to CNN. The standoff ended five hours later with Eisenberg's peaceful surrender. No hostages were hurt.

"I need to speak to Hillary Clinton," CNN quoted Eisenberg as saying. "Something's got to change. Ordinary people need help with their insurance."

Eisenberg, who is being held without bail in a local jail, was supposed to be in court that day on a domestic violent complaint filed by his wife, who had filed for divorce. He was also one of more than 500 sexual abuse victims who received settlement from the Boston Archdiocese in 2003, the Boston Globe reported over the weekend. He had sued former Archbishop Bernard Law in 2002 for allegations that he had been molested by a priest when he was 21.

The incident on Friday brought the city of Rochester to a standstill, and local police officers were joined by SWAT teams, and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the Secret Service in evacuating and securing the streets and buildings around Main Street where Clinton's office is located. Other presidential campaign offices including those of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards were closed. Authorities have said Eisenberg could face federal charges.

Clinton was in Virginia for a National Democratic Committee meeting during the ordeal. She flew to New Hampshire the same day and met with her staffers and police. She told reporters on Monday that her staffers "performed magnificently under pressure," and that talking to the families of the hostages "were the most emotional moments" of the incident.