Capitol Police Investigate Suspicious Vehicle Near Library of Congress

U.S.|Police Investigate Suspicious Vehicle connected Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — The United States Capitol Police were investigating a “suspicious vehicle” extracurricular the Library of Congress connected Thursday, telling radical to debar the area.

In alerts to Capitol Hill unit members, the constabulary urged immoderate radical to determination wrong offices, fastener doors and enactment distant from windows, and told others to evacuate to designated assembly areas.

The constabulary were investigating imaginable explosives successful a conveyance adjacent the Library of Congress, according to a legislature official.

The Metropolitan Police Department was “assisting with the study of an progressive weaponry menace involving a suspicious vehicle,” and “currently evacuating the area,” according to a spokeswoman, Alaina Gertz.

The Capitol Police declined to supply details astir the probe and referred questions to the agency’s Twitter account, which urged radical to enactment distant from the area.

With Congress connected its yearly summertime recess, precise fewer lawmakers were wrong the Capitol analyzable connected Thursday, though immoderate police, nonrecreational unit and their aides were.

As the constabulary investigated, they unopen down respective adjacent streets astir the 100 artifact of First Street SE. Technicians from the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the officers astatine the scene.

Shortly earlier 11 a.m., dozens of radical flooded retired of the Madison building, having been told by officers wrong to permission the building.

“Everybody caput southbound now,” a Capitol Police serviceman said arsenic different officers ushered operation workers distant from enactment successful the roadworthy and asked diners extracurricular a cafe to permission their tables.

Ultimately overmuch of the crowd, immoderate carrying laptops and tangled handfuls of charging cords and headphones, ended up successful a parkland adjacent the building, calling household members and figuring retired however to get home.

The menace unsettled visitors and employees astatine the Capitol, 8 months aft a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Hill connected Jan. 6, successful a convulsive effort to forestall Congress from certifying the results of the statesmanlike election.

Glenn Thrush and Nicholas Fandos contributed reporting.