The photo taken on Aug 10, 2021 shows the US Capitol building in Washington. PHOTO XINHUA WASHINGTON - The US Capitol and surrounding buildings were briefly evacuated on Wednesday evening due to a possible threat from an aircraft.
The US Capitol Police sent out an alert telling people to leave the Capitol Complex. The advisory was rescinded about 20 minutes later.
The Capitol was evacuated out of an abundance of caution this evening, the Capitol Police tweeted. There is no threat at the Capitol. Staff can go back inside the Congressional buildings. They said our federal, state, and local partners are still working to get more information.
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The US Army Golden Knights reportedly flew the aircraft into Washington's Nationals Park as part of a pre-game performance.
The evacuation notice was issued by the Capitol Police, who were reportedly unaware of the aircraft and thought it was a threat, triggering the evacuation notice. Nationals Stadium is less than 3 km from Capitol Hill.
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out at the Federal Aviation Administration FAA over what she called the unnecessary panic caused by this apparent negligence. Pelosi wrote that the FAA's failure to notify Capitol Police of the planned flyover Nationals Stadium was outrageous and inexcusable.
The FAA hasn't responded yet to the incident.
Most of the US lawmakers were not at the Capitol on Wednesday, because both the House and Senate were not in session.