US Capitol on lockdown after reports of bomb in pickup truck: Lawmakers are evacuated as cops call in negotiators to engage with driver
- Police were investigating a report of a possible explosive device in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill
- Police are reportedly sending negotiators to engage with a man in the truck making threats
- They have evacuated the area around the building and told lawmakers to shelter
- The building is near the Capitol and the Supreme Court
- Police have also evacuated the Cannon House Office Building
- Congress is on a break this weekA man sitting in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress Thursday morning told police he had a bomb, prompting a massive law enforcement response.
The building is near the Capitol and the Supreme Court.
The driver parked the truck on sidewalk outside the library at 9.15am, and informed the officer responding to a report of the disturbance that he had a bomb, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger reported at a news conference around noon.
The officer, Manger said, reported that the man had what appeared to be a detonator in his hand.
Staffers in the offices around the truck were evacuated, and police have sent negotiators to engage with a man in the truck making the threat.
Manger said negotiations with the man were ongoing.
'My negotiators are at hard work trying to find a peaceful solution to this situation,' he said.
They were reportedly communicating with him as he wrote notes and showed them to police from inside the truck.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger reported that a man had driven a pickup onto the sidewalk next to the Library of Congress Thursday morning, and told authorities he had a bomb. As of noon, he said, negotiations with the man were still ongoing
People are evacuated from the James Madison memorial building Thursday morning after reports of a possible explosive device found in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress
Staff at the Madison and Jefferson office buildings were initially told to shelter in place, but later advised to evacuate toward the Second Street side of the building, away from First Street, where the truck is parked.
Police have also evacuated the Cannon House Office Building and the Supreme Court building.
Congress is on break this week, and staffers were seen calmly walking out of the area at the direction of authorities.
The man in the pickup truck told police that he had an explosive device in his possession Thursday morning, prompting authorities to lock down the entire Capitol complex
Police blockaded the area around the building, which is near the Capitol and the Supreme court
US Capitol Police advised people to stay away from the area and police were sending in negotiators to engage with the driver of the pickup truck
According to reports from the scene, the entire Capitol complex had been placed on lockdown
Police were investigating a report of a possible explosive device in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill and have evacuated the area around the buildingThe law enforcement officials said investigators were at the scene and working to determine whether the device was an operable explosive. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
'This is an active bomb threat investigation,' the Capitol Police said on Twitter.
The Capitol Police asked anyone working in the Cannon congressional offices to leave and relocate to the neighboring Longworth building, while they had those in the Madison building bar themselves in their offices.
A staging area was set up for reporters at Constitution and First Street.
Capitol Hill reporters said the entire complex had been shut down.
US Capitol police have issued a warning for people to avoid the area around the Library of Congress
Staff at the Madison and Jefferson office buildings were initially told to shelter in place, and later advised to evacuate
Police are sending negotiators to engage with a man in the truck making the threat
The building is near the Capitol and the Supreme Court. Police have also evacuated the Cannon House Office Building. Congress is on break this week
The Jefferson building, part of the Library of Congress, was also evacuated.
The House of Representatives and Senate are not currently in session.
'The USCP is responding to a suspicious vehicle near the Library of Congress,' the Capitol Police wrote on Twitter. 'Please stay away from this area.'
It comes months after a pipe bomb was left at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee in Washington a day before thousands of pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in January.
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