Driver Rams Car Into FBI Pittsburgh Gate in Possible Act of Terror, Official Says

A driver rammed a car into an FBI security gate at the Pittsburgh bureau office on the morning of Sept. 17 in what the agency said was a “targeted attack” that may have been an “act of terror” against the bureau.

In a statement on X, the FBI Pittsburgh office said the individual hit the gate at about 2:40 a.m. local time, exited the vehicle, and then removed an “American flag from the backseat” before throwing the flag on the damaged gate.

The driver of the vehicle then fled the scene, according to the FBI statement. The office provided no details about the suspect.

“This incident is considered a targeted attack against the FBI,” the statement reads. “No FBI personnel were injured.”

The agency provided a photo of the vehicle used in the incident, which was a white sedan with a Pennsylvania license plate.

Christopher Giordano, assistant special agent in charge at the FBI office, told reporters that the vehicle had writing on the windows and confirmed that the suspect was identified as Donald Henson, of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania.

Henson, 46, was captured seven hours later and invoked a Latin phrase about tyrants, “sic semper tyrannis,” meaning “thus always to tyrants,” while talking to the FBI, according to an affidavit.

John Wilkes Booth, the assassin who killed President Abraham Lincoln, is said to have shouted the phrase after shooting Lincoln.

Henson has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and damaging government property. He will remain in custody until a detention hearing set for Tuesday.

Giordano described Henson as a former member of the military.

Giordano said in an earlier update that Henson’s actions were an “act of terror against the FBI.”

“This was a targeted attack on this building,” he said. “Thankfully, no one was hurt, but we are going to exhaust every ability we have under the federal law to find, apprehend, and prosecute this subject to the fullest extent.”

There was no indication that Henson was armed, Giordano told reporters, noting that he appeared to have a “mental health problem.” The FBI said they considered him dangerous.

“In scouring our indexes, we did find … that he did visit the field office a couple of weeks ago to make a complaint that didn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Giordano said. “But we ran down everything that he came down with. It didn’t have a federal nexus. We contacted him to let him know there was no federal crime that we were able to charge.”

The FBI called on the public to “avoid this individual if seen” and then advised the public to call 911, call the FBI, or make a report through its web portal.

The public is asked to please call 911, call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or make a report online at https://t.co/AoP0WgKFiX. pic.twitter.com/OnO7gyhlel

— FBI Pittsburgh (@FBIPittsburgh) September 17, 2025

The incident comes as FBI Director Kash Patel speaks before a Senate panel this week, answering questions on a range of issues, including an investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10. Patel said the FBI is investigating whether users of the online messaging platform Discord knew about the assassination beforehand. The suspect in the case, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, had allegedly posted a message in a Discord server that appeared to be about the shooting.

Patel also told lawmakers on Sept. 16 that the FBI is currently investigating 1,700 domestic terrorism cases.