Veteran Broadcasts Hours-Long Standoff With Police

An Afghanistan veteran wearing military gear live-streamed his hours-long standoff with police on social media.

On Saturday around 2 p.m., police arrived at a home in Mahopac in response to a domestic incident, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. A standoff with police and 28-year-old Alexander Booth ensued, with Booth broadcasting the standoff live on his Instagram, NBC reports.

According to social media posts, Booth, under the Instagram name whiskey_warrior_556, was red-flagged for having high-capacity weapons. Another social media post says police forced his wife to allow them into the house to seize the weapons prior to the standoff. Police in Putnam County deny the social media allegations.

"The incident was widely reported to be a law enforcement effort to seize firearms under 'Red Flag' laws. This information was incorrect. The law enforcement response and subsequent arrest was related to a domestic violence investigation by the Carmel Police Department," the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.

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According to Booth, police, SWAFT and ATF were outside his home. He barricaded himself inside his home for 7-hours, with his Instagram followers encouraging him to not surrender, according to NBC.

"Update: I told the negotiator get me something in writing that I won't do jail time or there will be blood," Booth wrote on Instagram during the standoff, according to Heavy.

Booth exited the residence shortly after 9 p.m. without incident. NBC was told Booth suffers from PTSD.

"This is a person in crisis having mental illness and having issues and he didn’t need the people on social media telling him that his rights were being violated," Carmel Police Chief Michael Cazzari said, according to NBC.