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Standoff at Clinton's office

The incident ends peacefully after a man releases hostages in N.H.

ROCHESTER, N.H. - A man who claimed to be wearing an explosive device surrendered Friday evening to police, peacefully ending a nearly six-hour standoff at a campaign office of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Shortly after releasing the last of at least five hostages unharmed, the suspect, identified as Leeland Eisenberg, 47, walked out of the storefront office, put down a homemade bomb-like package and was immediately surrounded by a SWAT team.

Clad in gray slacks, white dress shirt and a red tie, Eisenberg, who had demanded to talk to Clinton, was put on the ground and handcuffed.

Eisenberg was well known to local police for his erratic behavior and was scheduled to be in court Friday for a domestic violence hearing. He had nothing more than road flares taped to his chest, police said afterward.

The incident came less than six weeks before the New Hampshire presidential primary, the first in the nation. The storefront campaign office, usually open to all comers, is a staple of the state's meet-and-greet politics.

Clinton was in the Washington area, but the confrontation brought her campaign to a standstill. She canceled all appearances, as did her husband, and the security around her was increased. Police said she had been willing to talk to the suspect but was discouraged from doing so by officers who did not want to meet that demand too quickly.

"Everything stopped, and it had to because we had nothing on our minds except the safety of these young people who work for me," Clinton said. "It appears he was someone who needed help and sought attention in absolutely the wrong way."

The drama began shortly before 1 p.m., when the suspect walked into the office and peeled back his jacket to reveal what appeared to be a bomb duct-taped to his chest, police said. He took several hostages, but let a woman with an infant go immediately.

Eisenberg called CNN several times during the standoff, sayinghe had mental problems and couldn't get anyone to help him, the network said.

Not long after the surrender, police maneuvered a robot to the hostage-taker's package and triggered an explosion to destroy it.

[Last modified December 1, 2007, 01:09:43]