WASHINGTON -- A North Carolina tobacco farmer who drove his tractor into a pond on the National Mall in March, leading to a two-day standoff with police, was convicted on Friday on two charges.

A federal court jury found Dwight Watson, 50, of Whitakers, North Carolina, guilty of threatening and conveying false information concerning the use of an explosive, and destruction of government property.

Watson drove his tractor into a shallow pond on the National Mall, a grassy, park-like promenade in the heart of the capital, to protest government polices that he said had forced tobacco farmers out of business. The incident snarled commuter traffic across the city, Reuters reported.

Law enforcement officials said that when an officer from the United States Park Police made contact with Watson, he claimed to have explosives in the box on the trailer bed and threatened to detonate the explosives if anyone approached him or attempted to force him to leave the pond. After Watson surrendered, the police did not find any explosives.

Each offense carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson set sentencing for Dec. 16.