Police cleared the headquarters of the US Congress on Wednesday after declaring a harmless plane taking part in a sporting event to be a threat.
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Posted on 4/21/2022 7:38 AM Updated on 4/21/2022 7:51 AM
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Did she believe in an airborne invasion of the Capitol? US police evacuated the headquarters of the US Congress in Washington on Wednesday, April 20, after deeming a harmless plane taking part in a sporting event a threat. “Evacuate the United States Capitol”: A worrying alert reported a potential aerial threat at around 6:30 p.m. before being lifted less than twenty minutes later.
The police, who justified the evacuation with a “precautionary thought”, promised “further information will follow”. More than two hours after the first warning, they still hadn’t given an official reason. A simple and embarrassing communication problem appears to be the cause of the false alarm. The reported threat was actually just US Army paratroopers being dropped from a plane to attend a pre-game show at a ballpark less than 2 miles from the Capitol.
“The fact that the US Federal Aviation Administration appears to have failed to notify Capitol Police of the planned overflight of Nationals Stadium is outrageous and inexcusable,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
“The needless panic caused by this apparent negligence has left elected officials, staff and institutional workers still reeling from the trauma of the attack on their workplace on April 6, 2021 by supporters of Donald Trump.
Although brief, the warning was immediately shared by the American media in a country still deeply marked by the memory of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The number of people present in the Capitol precincts Wednesday was likely limited when the Senate and House of Representatives are not in session.