WASHINGTON
U.S. capitol police gave an “all clear” Tuesday after it evacuated several floors of the Dirksen Senate Office Building over a phone call reporting a suspicious package.
Several floors in the building were evacuated as a precaution while police investigated the call reporting bomb threat.
The partial evacuation interrupted a hearing into security lapses at the Transportation Security Administration.
A message posted to the Twitter account of the Senate sergeant-at-arms said the northwest door of the building was closed until further notice.
Local media reported that Capitol police were also investigating a “suspicious” bag in the Russell Senate Office Building courtyard. It is not clear if the two incidents are related.
Tuesday’s incidents follow a series of recent security lapses at the Capitol. Last month a man landed with a small gyrocopter on the south lawn of the Capitol – just weeks after the building was placed on lockdown when a man reportedly attempted suicide at the West Front of the building.
