Hostage Drama Suspect a Rapist

Man accused of holding six at Clinton campaign office
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 4, 2007 3:48 AM CST
Hostage Drama Suspect a Rapist
SWAT team members take Leeland Eisenberg of Rochester into custody after a nearly six hour hostage and standoff situation at the Hillary Clinton campaign office in Rochester, N.H. on Friday, Nov. 30, 2007. (AP Photo/Foster's Daily Democrat, Craig Osborne)   (Associated Press)

The man accused of holding six people hostage at a Hillary Clinton campaign office in New Hampshire is a twice-convicted rapist with an extensive criminal record, the Boston Globe reports. Leeland Eisenberg, 46, taped road flares to his chest and burst into Clinton's Rochester campaign office Friday. His attorney said it was the act of a "desperate man" who could no longer afford medication for his bipolar disorder.

Prosecutors, however, took a different view at his arraignment yesterday. "What we have here is a man who has left a trail of victims who is now trying to hide behind a phantom mental health issue," said the county attorney. In an added odd twist, Eisenberg was one of hundreds of victims of clergy sex abuse who received payments from the Boston archdiocese in 2003. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail. (More New Hampshire stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X