Leeland Eisenberg, Clinton Campaign Hostage Taker, Arrested In New Hampshire

Leeland Eisenberg, a man who took hostages at a Hillary Clinton campaign office in 2007, was arrested in New Hampshire less than a day after escaping from authorities.

Eisenberg, 52, was arrested at 8:30 am Monday. Authorities found him in the lobby of a community center in Manchester, New Hampshire. They arrested him on an escape charge without incident, a felony charge punishable by up to 7 years in prison.

Eisenberg was supposed to be arraigned in court later Monday. He was found missing from a Manchester halfway house where he was being held Sunday afternoon. Eisenberg did not inform anyone he was leaving, as he was required to do. CNN reports that this was at least the second time that Eisenberg has slipped out from under the authorities.

Authorities did not consider Eisenberg to be armed or dangerous, despite his actions six years ago. He does, however, have a history of mental illness and substance abuse.

“I wanted to sacrifice myself for mental illness and bring about the discussion about mental illness,” Eisenberg told CNN following the hostage situation in 2007.

Leeland Eisenberg entered a Hillary Clinton for president campaign office in in Rochester, New Hampsire. He had road flares strapped to his chest and claimed to have a bomb. Five hours passed before the hostages were freed. Hillary Clinton was running for president in Washington at the time, safe from harm. Eisenberg was convicted of kidnapping, criminal threatening, and false reports of explosives.

Eisenberg’s escape was not an isolated occurrence. He last sought to escape back in February of 2010. He cut his electronic monitoring bracelet and fled, but was found in his apartment in Dover the next day.

Escaping from a halfway house, also, apparently isn’t all that difficult.

“We get about six or seven minimum security walkaways a year from our halfway houses,” Department of Corrections spokesman Jeff Lyons told the Associated Press.

Eisenberg is accustomed to breaking the law, even though hostage-taking has never been his forte. Eisenberg was sentenced for rape in 1985 but escaped the following year and committed another rape. He was sentenced for 11 to 20 years and held until 2005.

Leeland Eisenberg would have been eligible for parole in August, since he ultimately did not harm anyone in 2007 when he walked into Hillary Clinton’s Rochester campaign office, took hostages, and declared himself a threat.