Pregame demonstration at Nationals Park sparks ‘outrageous and frightening’ evacuation of US Capitol
- The Nationals are hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park, located near the US Capitol
- Investigators were still working to determine why the event wasn’t properly coordinated with law enforcement officials in Washington
The US Capitol was briefly evacuated Wednesday after a false alarm saw police tracking an aircraft they said was a “probable threat” – but turned out to be carrying parachutists as part of a baseball pregame show.
Police tasked with protecting the complex at the heart of the US government in Washington issued an initial statement saying they had ordered an evacuation as they were “tracking an aircraft that poses a probable threat.”
They did not give details.
The news became a top headline within minutes in the United States, where the memories of September 11 attacks – which saw al-Qaeda fly passenger jets into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington – are still poignant.
But police swiftly issued a second statement to say the order had been given “out of an abundance of caution” and that there was “no threat” to the complex.