BOSTON -- A man who allegedly took workers hostage Friday at a Sen. Hillary Clinton presidential campaign office in New Hampshire was taken into custody after a five-hour standoff with police.

Leeland Eisenberg, 47, of Somersworth, N.H., is accused of walking into the Democrat's office with what appeared to be a bomb strapped to his body at about 1 p.m. at 28 North Main St. in Rochester. Officials said Eisenberg ordered the workers to the ground and released a woman and child who were inside the building.

"A young woman with a 6-month or 8-month-old infant came rushing into the store just in tears, and she said, 'You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape," witness Lettie Tzizik said.

Two campaign workers were released unharmed at about 3 p.m., according to a police officer, a third person was released at about 5:30 p.m. and another man at 6:15 p.m. Eisenberg was taken into custody shortly after the last hostage was released.

"Our initial call indicated that a male entered the offices, threatening the use of explosives," Rochester Police Chief David Dubois said. "We were able, over the course of several hours, to negotiate the release of the hostages that were involved. The suspect has been identified and is in custody. At this point, we are looking at charges that range from kidnapping to reckless conduct."

"He indicated that he had bombs strapped to himself, explosive devices," New Hampshire State Police Col. Frederick Booth said. "Once communications were established, negotiations began. There was a time in which the subject would not talk to the negotiator."

Booth said that the negotiator was able to gain Eisenberg's trust. During the conversations, officials said he asked for soda, cigarettes and alcohol.

"(The negotiator) continued to gain his confidence and basically talked him out by saying that we would be able to help him," Booth said.

Clinton, who was attending a National Democratic Committee meeting in Virginia said that she planned to travel to New Hampshire Friday night to thank the law enforcement officials who helped to bring the hostage situation to an end.

"I am very grateful that this difficult day has ended so well. All of my campaign staff and volunteers are safe," Clinton said from her Washington, D.C., home Friday night. "I was in touch during the day with the families of those who were held hostage, and I commend their extraordinary courage under difficult circumstances. This has been a difficult day for everyone in our campaign."

NewsCenter 5 confirmed that Eisenberg was scheduled to appear in Strafford County Superior Court at 1:30 p.m. Friday with his wife for a domestic violence hearing. Eisenberg also spent time in prison in Massachusetts. He was released from MCI Concord on March 16, 2005.

"This gentleman is known to the Rochester Police Department," Dubois said. "There is a public record. I've got to protect his privacy rights."

A witness who spoke with Eisenberg's stepson said that he asked family members where he could purchase road flares. Some officials speculated that he may have the flares strapped to his body. A friend of the family said that Eisenberg thought that there was a government conspiracy and that government officials were "coming after him."

"I don't personally know him, but I've been told he has mental illnesses," witness Cody Bennet said. "Some sort of conspiracy theories, he has been ranting about."

"He wasn't in the right state of mind and said, 'I need help. I don't know what to do with my life,'" witness Chelsea Coull said.

"Based on the information we received, we notified the state police bomb squad and secured and stabilized the area," Rochester Police Department Capt. Paul Callaghan said. "This is still a fluid investigation. We are investigating a hostage situation."

Several police officers were positioned across the street from the office with guns drawn.

"There are sharpshooters on the roof, and police are negotiating with someone in the building," said another witness, who did not want to be identified. "The police are notifying all the business owners on the street to evacuate. There are fire trucks behind the Hillary Clinton office."

"I walked out and I immediately started running, and I saw that the road was blocked off. They told me run and keep going," said Cassandra Hamilton, who works in an office adjacent to the building.

Nearby businesses were evacuated, and the St. Elizabeth Seaton School has been locked down. Several elementary and middle schools in the area also locked their doors in what officials called a "soft lockdown." Children at the McLelland School, Maple Street School and William Allen School were only being released directly to their parents.

"We are all disappointed that this would happen in our city. We are a quiet, friendly city," Rochester Mayor John Larochelle.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama also has an office in Rochester, and it has been evacuated. Staff members in John Edwards' office, which is a few buildings away, were also evacuated. There were no reports of any injuries.