Kamala Harris was inside the Democratic National Committee headquarters when a pipe bomb was discovered outside the building on 6 January last year, according to a report.
The then vice-president elect, who was sworn into office two weeks later, was evacuated minutes after Capitol police began investigating the bomb, Politico reported. The FBI described the bomb as a viable device that could have been detonated, resulting in serious injury or death. According to Anonymous sources, Harris was evacuated from the DNC office in Washington at 1.14 pm on January 6, seven minutes after police attended the bomb.
The threat from the pipe bomb was eventually neutralized at 4.36 pm, while another bomb, found at the Republican National Committee headquarters, was nullified at 3.33 pm.
The news that Harris was vulnerable to a potential explosion adds a new dimension to the events of 6 January. Harris is the first female US vice-president and the first woman of color in the White House.
Trump supporters were beginning to grapple with police on the steps of the Capitol building as Harris was being escorted from the DNC building. Some of the group would breach the building a little over an hour later.
The FBI believes that no one has been arrested in connection with the DNC and RNC bombs. The devices were planted on the evening of 5 January and discovered the next day.
In September, the FBI released a series of videos showing what it said was a suspect in the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bureau of Alcohol are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the person in the videos.