House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is blaming an evacuation of the U.S. Capitol on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In a statement Wednesday night, Pelosi said, “Today, and every day, our Congressional community is extraordinarily grateful for the heroism of our United States Capitol Police officers.”
“In ordering the evacuation of the Capitol and vigilantly monitoring for a potential aircraft threat, our officers ensured the safety of all who work in these hallowed halls — and we thank them for their exemplary service,” she continued.
The speaker went on:
“The Federal Aviation Administration’s apparent failure to notify Capitol Police of the pre-planned flyover Nationals Stadium is outrageous and inexcusable.”
She added, “The unnecessary panic caused by this apparent negligence was particularly harmful for Members, staff and institutional workers still grappling with the trauma of the attack on their workplace on January 6th.”
Finally, she said, “Congress looks forward to reviewing the results of a thorough after-action review that determines what precisely went wrong today and who at the Federal Aviation Administration will be held accountable for this outrageous and frightening mistake.”
Read the statement below:
.@SpeakerPelosi released this statement after today’s evacuation at the Capitol:
— Kirstin Garriss (@ReporterGarriss) April 21, 2022
“The unnecessary panic caused by this apparent negligence was particularly harmful for Members, staff & institutional workers still grappling with the trauma of the attack on their workplace on Jan6” pic.twitter.com/SNdYrAlY2y
On Wednesday evening, the U.S. Capitol Police sent an alert about an “aircraft that pose a probable threat to the Capitol Complex.”
It directed staff to evacuate the Capitol and surrounding buildings.
Hill staff has gotten this alert. We will stay on this story. Praying it’s nothing. pic.twitter.com/QqoouOaqZU
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 20, 2022
CNN’s Ryan Nobles shared a video from outside the Capitol that showed police moving people away from the area as alarms could be heard blaring:
Things have calmed down dramatically but for a good 15 minutes it was pretty frantic. The alarms were loud and intense and Capitol Police were not messing around getting people out. pic.twitter.com/QBFXakSxl7
— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) April 20, 2022
However, the scare was reportedly due to a lack of communication from the FAA.
The flight was part of a pregame display at a Washington Nationals game in which Army Parachutists dropped into the stadium to recognize Military Appreciation Day.
HERE THEY COME @Nationals FANS!! pic.twitter.com/F64drmj1Zx
— Olivia Garvey (@OliviaNBCLA) April 20, 2022
After the incident, the FAA said in a statement that it “takes its role in protecting the national airspace seriously and will conduct a thorough and expeditious review of the events this evening and share updates.”
“We know our actions affect others, especially in our nation’s capital region, and we must communicate early and often with our law enforcement partners,” it added.