A pregame performance at the Washington Nationals baseball game featuring the Army's Golden Knights prompted a brief evacuation of the U.S. Capitol.
Capitol Police evacuated the building Wednesday, but then said there was no threat to staff and journalists who work there.
The Capitol was evacuated out of an abundance of caution this evening. There is no threat at the Capitol. More details are to come, police said in a statement.
The Golden Knights sailed into the stadium, blocks from the Capitol, as part of Military Appreciation Night. Two Capitol Police sources said that there was a miscommunication between the Capitol Police and the organizers of the pregame events.
The USCP is tracking an aircraft that poses a possible threat to the Capitol Complex, according to an email sent by the police to staffers at the Capitol. In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, said the Capitol was evacuated due to the Federal Aviation Administration failing to notify the U.S. Capitol Police of pre-planned activities, and called for a review to determine what exactly went wrong.
Pelosi wrote that the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to notify Capitol Police of the pre-planned flyover Nationals Stadium was outrageous and inexcusable. The unnecessary panic caused by this apparent negligence was particularly harmful for Members, staff and institutional workers who were still reeling from the trauma of the attack on their workplace on January 6th. Alexandra Hejduk, a spokesman for North American Aerospace Defense Command, said everything in regard to the flight was FAA compliant and no fighter jets were scrambled, adding that NORAD was not involved.
Most lawmakers are back in their home states and fewer staffers are usually around, because Congress is in recess this week.