U.S. Capitol Police says no threat after briefly evacuating building

A pregame performance at the Washington Nationals baseball game featuring the Army’s Golden Knights prompted a brief evacuation of the U.S. Capitol.

The U.S. Capitol Police briefly evacuated the building on Wednesday, but then said there was no threat in a series of messages to staff and press who work there.

“The Capitol was evacuated out of an abundance of caution this evening. There is no threat at the Capitol. More details to come,” the police said in a statement.

There was a miscommunication between the Capitol police and the organizers of the pregame events, according to two Capitol police sources.

The Golden Knights parachuted into the stadium, located blocks from the Capitol building, as part of Military Appreciation Night.

Congress is in recess this week, meaning most lawmakers are back in their home states and there are usually fewer staffers around.

Initially, the police ordered the building to evacuate because it said there was an aircraft being tracked. “The USCP is tracking an aircraft that poses a probable threat to the Capitol Complex,” stated an email to staffers at the Capitol.