WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Capitol was briefly evacuated Wednesday night after police identified a plane they said posed “a probable threat” but the plane was actually carrying members of the US Army Golden Knights, who then parachuted into the National Park for a pre-game demo.
The US Capitol Police alert sent congressional staffers fleeing the Capitol and Legislative Building around 6:30 p.m.
The incident suggested a surprising communication failure between the military, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Capitol Police, made even more notable given Washington’s focus on improving security since the January 6, 2021 attack on the building by the supporters of then President Donald Trump. .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blamed the FAA in a statement Wednesday night, saying its “apparent failure to notify Capitol Police about the previously planned flyover of Nationals Stadium is outrageous and inexcusable.” . The FAA did not respond to a request for comment.
Kelli LeGaspi, a spokeswoman for the US Army Recruiting Command, which was behind the Golden Knights demonstration, released a statement saying, “We are reviewing all aspects of the event to ensure all aspects of the event were followed.” procedures properly to coordinate both the flight and the parachute demonstration. .”
Many who work on Capitol Hill have been on edge for more than a year after hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through overwhelmed police officers, smashed windows and doors and ransacked the Capitol as Congress voted to certify the Joe Biden’s election victory.
In Wednesday’s incident, the aircraft, a twin-engine plane, took off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and was circling inside highly restricted airspace near the Capitol when the alert was sent. Radar tracking data shows the plane, a de Havilland Twin Otter, stayed out of prohibited airspace over the Capitol building and other government complexes at all times. Air traffic control footage captures the Army plane coordinating its flight with the control tower at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Investigators were still working to determine why the event was not properly coordinated with law enforcement in Washington, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Multiple federal agencies began harassing officials as the plane circled.
The capital region is defended by several surface-to-air missile sites, as well as military crews on 24-hour alert. It didn’t appear that any of those systems were encrypted.
Authorities believe, based on a preliminary review, that the pilot may have misreported the takeoff or had the proper clearance, the people said. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Pelosi said, “Congress looks forward to reviewing the results of a comprehensive after-action review that determines exactly what went wrong today and who in the Federal Aviation Administration will be held accountable for this shocking and outrageous mistake.”
The plane landed in Andrews around 6:50 p.m. after paratroopers landed in the middle of the field in the National Park. The stadium, home to the Washington Nationals baseball team, is just over a mile from the United States Capitol.
One witness to the chaos on Capitol Hill was Eireann Dolan, the wife of Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle. “I was walking the dogs in front of Dirksen’s Senate Office Building,” Dolan tweeted. “People started going out all at once. They told me to turn around and walk away as fast as possible. Some people were calm, but many were truly terrified. I know it was.
Buildings in the Capitol complex were reopened shortly after 8 p.m.
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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Alan Fram contributed to this report.
Reference-apnews.com