RNC Briefly Put On Lockdown Because Of ‘Suspicious Package’ Containing Vials Of Blood, Authorities Give All-Clear

The Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters in Washington, D.C., briefly went under lockdown on Wednesday morning as law enforcement responded to a package found to have contained vials of blood.

In a statement after the “all clear” had been given, the U.S. Capitol Police said officers responded to the 300 block of First Street SE — the RNC’s Capitol Hill address — over the report of a suspicious package at around 7:45 a.m.

“The package was just cleared by our Hazardous Incident Response Division,” the U.S. Capitol Police said. “It contained two vials of blood. The source of the package and its contents will be further investigated.”

At 8:29 a.m. local time, NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns broke the news in a post to X, saying that the RNC’s building went under lockdown “until further notice” and that sources had told her a hazmat team was on site.

The U.S. Capitol Police told congressional offices they were investigating a “suspicious substance” at the RNC’s address, according to a notice obtained by Axios. “Staff and other personnel are directed to AVOID THIS AREA until further notice.”

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Sam Lister, a Capitol Hill producer for Scripps News, shared on X how there was “Yellow caution tape everywhere to block the street and lots of folks standing outside on the sidewalk near the RNC.”

BREAKING: RNC headquarters in Washington DC on lockdown pic.twitter.com/mSIfOtkESF

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By 9:30 a.m., the U.S. Capitol Police had given the “all clear.”

John Parkinson, a reporter and producer for ABC News, said in a post to X that an officer told him that “nobody is messing around” after a pair of pipe bombs were found outside the RNC’s and Democratic National Committee’s offices in Washington, D.C., in January 2021.

More than three years later, federal officials have yet to say they have found a suspect linked to the pipe bomb scare. A bulletin issued by the FBI in January said a $500,000 reward, which would be given in exchange for information leading to an individual’s arrest and conviction, “remains in effect.” The bureau also said “identifying the perpetrator of this attempted attack remains a priority” for law enforcement and offered information on how to contact investigators.