Trucker Held in Threat on White House

A Glendale truck driver arrested in Ohio this week on suspicion of threatening to blow up the White House could face up to 15 years in prison, authorities said Tuesday.

Norayr Avetisyan, 27, was arrested in Dayton on Monday after he was allegedly overheard telling a fellow trucker over a citizen’s band radio that he was carrying explosives and was headed to the White House. Another trucker listening in on the conversation called 911.

State police alerted officers in the surrounding area. A truck weigh station was opened in Preble County, Ohio, near the state line so Avetisyan would have to stop. Members of the FBI task force on terrorism and U.S. Secret Service agents participated in the arrest. No explosives were found and Avetisyan was turned over to U.S. Marshalls on Tuesday, police said.

Reached at his Glendale apartment, a woman who said she was Avetisyan’s sister said Tuesday that her brother’s comments were not serious.

“He was in an argument with another person and that person wanted to get back at him, so he called the police,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “My brother is not like that at all. It’s all ridiculous.”