The US Capitol was evacuated briefly on Wednesday night after police identified a plane they said posed a “possible threat” to the US government’s heart.
It turned out that the plane were members of the Golden Knights of the US Army, who parachuted into Nationals Park for a demonstration before the game. The stadium, home of the Washington Nationals baseball team, is just over a mile from the Capitol.
A signal from U.S. Capitol police sent congressional officials to flee the Capitol and the Legislature at about 6:30 p.m.
The incident involved a stunning communication failure between the military, the Federal Aviation Administration and Capitol police, all the more remarkable because of Washington’s focus on improving security following the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
House Nancy spokesman Nancy Pelosi accused the FAA in a statement Wednesday night, saying “the apparent failure to notify Capitol police of a pre-planned overflight at Nationals Stadium is outrageous and unforgivable.” The FAA has since said it is reviewing the incident.
Kelly LeGaspi, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Recruitment Command behind the Golden Knights’ demonstration, issued a statement saying: “We are reviewing all aspects of the event to ensure that all procedures have been properly followed. coordinating both the flight and the parachute demonstration. “
Many Capitol workers remained on the brink for more than a year after hundreds of pro-Trump rebels made their way past congested police, smashed windows and doors, and searched the Capitol as Congress voted to declare Joe Biden’s election victory.
On Wednesday, the plane took off from the Andrews Joint Base in Maryland and was circling in very limited airspace near the Capitol when the warning was sent. Radar tracking data shows that the plane remained out of the forbidden airspace over the Capitol and other government complexes at all times. Air traffic control footage captures the military plane coordinating its flight with the control tower at nearby Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington.
Investigators are still working to determine why the event was not properly coordinated with law enforcement officials in Washington, two people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. Numerous federal agencies began climbing officials as the plane circled over them.
The metropolitan area is protected by several surface-to-air missile sites, as well as military crews on round-the-clock alert. None of these systems seemed to be encrypted.
Officials believe that based on a preliminary inspection, the pilot may not have reported properly for takeoff or had the appropriate permission, AP sources said.
“Congress looks forward to reviewing the results of an in-depth post-action review that determines exactly what went wrong today and who in the Federal Aviation Administration will be held accountable for this outrageous and frightening mistake,” Pelosi said.
The plane landed back in Andrews around 6:50 p.m., after the paratroopers landed and landed on the field at Nationals Park.
One witness to the chaos in the Capitol was Eirean Dolan, the wife of national pitcher Sean Doolittle. “I was walking the dogs past Dirksen’s Senate office building,” Dolan tweeted. “People started broadcasting all at once. I was told to turn around and leave as soon as possible. Some people were calm, but many were genuinely panicked. I know I was. ”
The buildings in the Capitol complex reopened shortly after 8 p.m.
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