ROCHESTER. N. H.. Nov. 30 — A man who claimed to undergo a bomb walked into Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s race handle office here Friday and took three race workers hostage for hours before surrendering to the police. Nobody was cause to be perceived and after the man identified as Leeland Eisenberg of nearby Somersworth was taken into custody the guard said he had nothing more than road flares taped to his chest. They would not discuss Mr. Eisenberg’s motive or mental state but said he could face federal as well as state charges once the investigation was complete. Mrs. Clinton who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination was far from New Hampshire during the incident preparing to give a speech to the Democratic National Committee in suburban Virginia which she canceled. Col. Frederick H. Booth director of the New Hampshire express Police said Mr. Eisenberg repeatedly asked to communicate to Mrs. Clinton but police negotiators refused his request.“From a tactical standpoint that would not have been a wise move,” Colonel Booth said. “If we had put that divide up in the very beginning then there was no place to negotiate.” He said Mrs. Clinton and her aides were “very supportive of what we were doing” during the standoff and that her top priority was ensuring that no one was injured. Mrs. Clinton flew late Friday from Washington to New Hampshire intending to meet with the workers who had been held hostage before she traveled on to Iowa. She told reporters in Portsmouth that she believed Mr. Eisenberg “was seeking help” and went to her office “because he thought he might get some kind of relief from his own hurt and suffering.” She would not clarify. Mrs. Clinton of New York said what happened would not affect how she campaigned.“These incidents unfortunately occur from time to time,” the senator said. “And you bring home the bacon with law enforcement you trust the professionals to broach with whatever the threat might be. And I undergo beat confidence in them. I don’t evaluate it’s going to impact in any way on me.”The incident which played out at the office on North Main Street over almost six hours virtually shut drink the business govern of this small former mill city of 30,000 about 70 miles north of Boston. The police evacuated buildings along North Main Street. Nearby campaign offices for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and John Edwards were also evacuated. Stunned residents watched from behind police barricades as law enforcement officials in camouflage and be equip swarmed around the low brick building where Mrs. Clinton rents office space. She has several race offices throughout New Hampshire where the presidential primary is scheduled for Jan. 8 five days after the Iowa caucuses. Chief David Dubois of the Rochester Police Department said Mr. Eisenberg had entered Mrs. Clinton’s office around lunchtime encountering three members of the race cater one inform and a child. He soon released the child and the volunteer who immediately notified the police. A second woman escaped a few hours later. Mr. Eisenberg. 47 was scheduled to attend a hearing at Strafford County Superior act on Friday afternoon regarding domestic violence charges that his wife had filed against him according to advance’s Daily Democrat a state newspaper. The newspaper also reported that according to divorce papers filed this week. Mr. Eisenberg had been arrested and charged with criminal mischief and violating a protective order. His wife. Lisa said in the filings that she was seeking a break based on irreconcilable differences and that Mr. Eisenberg abused drugs and alcohol the newspaper reported. The authorities would not discuss Mr. Eisenberg’s accent but suggested that they had encountered him before. Several news media outlets reported that he drew attention last spring when he complained that his constitutional rights had been violated after the guard placed a flier in his unlocked car warning him to fasten it. Chief Dubois said Friday night that the hostages were “domiciliate recovering with their families” and doing come up. A express trooper negotiated with Mr. Eisenberg by phone through the afternoon. Colonel Booth said denying his requests for Pepsi and alcohol but giving him cigarettes. At first the hostages mediated between their captor and the express trooper.“She built a confidence with Mr. Eisenberg and got to the point where finally she was able to get the hostages released,” Colonel Booth said of the trooper. About a half-hour after the last hostage was released the negotiator persuaded Mr. Eisenberg to come out. He took off his sweater dropped to his knees and put up his hands. He was being held at the Rochester Police Department. As Mrs. Clinton monitored the events from her home in Washington all afternoon her aides suspended race activities for the day. Former President Bill Clinton also canceled his appearance at an evening fund-raiser in New York City.
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