Bomb Threat Investigation Near U.S. Capitol Prompts Evacuations

(Bloomberg) -- Police are investigating a possible explosive device in a vehicle near the Capitol Thursday and staff from a House office building were being evacuated.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it has responded with the Capitol Police to investigate reports of a suspicious vehicle and bomb near the Library of Congress.

Staff at the library’s James Madison Memorial Building were being evacuated, while those in a nearby House office building were be told to use underground tunnels to evacuate.

Most lawmakers are not in Washington because Congress is on recess, but many staff members and others are working in the Capitol complex.

Security officials at the Capitol, as well as federal agencies and Washington, D.C.-area police departments have been on heightened security alert because of the approach of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and conspiracy theories circulating on the internet related to former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 presidential election.

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