The Supreme Court, a House office building and the Library of Congress were evacuated Thursday after a North Carolina man in a truck parked outside the library said he had a bomb, according to law enforcement officials.
A Republican National Committee spokeswoman said the RNC offices nearby were evacuated as well.
“My negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tome Manger told reporters at a briefing.
The man, who was in a black pickup truck, has been making anti-government statements, according to law enforcement officials who spoke with NBC News.
Officials said the man claimed to have a propane tank inside the cab of the truck, and also claimed to be holding a detonator. But officers have not been able to look inside the cab.
Two law enforcement officials told NBC that man in the truck is communicating with authorities by writing on a dry-erase board that he had in the vehicle.
Bomb technicians from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene, in addition to FBI negotiators.
U.S. Capitol Police, who first responded to the incident, warned the public to stay away from the scene.
People at the Cannon House Office Building received an alert telling them to leave that building and relocate to the Longworth House Office Building.
People are evacuated from the James Madison Memorial Building, a Library of Congress building, in Washington on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, as law enforcement investigate a report of a pickup truck containing an explosive device near the U.S. Capitol.
Alex Brandon | AP
Congress is currently in recess. The Supreme Court also is not in session.
The White House was monitoring the situation, and getting updates from law enforcement.
Subways were bypassing the Capitol South station because of the investigation, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said.
– Additional reporting by CNBC’s Brian Schwartz
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