WILLISTON, N.D. — A Texas man was being held in a North Dakota jail Friday after authorities said he ran from a Williston airport security checkpoint when federal agents tried to search his laptop, an incident that closed the facility for several hours.

Brian Pyron, 53, was arrested Thursday at Sloulin Field International Airport on a felony terrorizing charge and a misdemeanor charge of physical obstruction of government function, police said.

According to a police affidavit, Transportation Security Administration employees were investigating Pyron’s duct-taped laptop Thursday during pre-boarding security screening when he requested to remove the computer’s hard drive. When they refused his request, the affidavit says Pyron told them he was not boarding the plane and attempted to run away on foot.

TSA staff in Williston said Pyron would not identify the laptop as his when employees asked whose it was, said Lorie Dankers, a Seattle-based spokeswoman for the agency. She says Pyron then tried to exit the screening area.

Initial testing showed the presence of explosives residue on the laptop, which was duct-taped with protruding wires. A bomb squad from Minot eventually determined the computer was not an explosive device, but the airport was closed to flights and evacuated for more than four hours as authorities investigated.

Detective Amy Nickoloff said Pyron was scheduled to fly to Texas, through Minneapolis. Pyron’s hometown was not immediately known.

Pyron faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 if convicted of the terrorizing felony charge, or both. If convicted of the physical obstruction of government function misdemeanor charge, he faces a maximum of one year in prison and a $3,000 fine, or both.

According to North Dakota law, the terrorizing charge can be filed even if the suspect isn’t believed to have put anybody in danger. The charge also can be applied for such things as causing “serious disruption or public inconvenience.”

It is not clear if Pyron has an attorney. Calls to the county jail and Transportation Security Administration offices were not immediately returned.

Airport manager Steven Kjergaard said the airport sees eight commercial flights and about 250 to 300 boardings every day. He added that this is the first suspicious device at the airport that he knows of.