ST. ALBANS, Vt. (AP) -- A South Carolina man accused of telling people he was a terrorist has been arrested near a passport office in the northern Vermont city of St. Albans.

Police say 47-year-old Radu Chereches (chur-EE-chis) of Ridgeland, S.C., went into a business and asked if he could leave two large backpacks there because he had been told not enter the U.S. passport office next door with them.

Police say a short time later he told officers he was a terrorist and said he had told people in the passport office the same thing. He refused to allow officers to search his backpacks.

State and federal law enforcement officers determined the backpack contained only personal items.

Chereches was charged with creating a false public alarm. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.

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