US Capitol evacuated as baseball parachute display seen as ‘probable threat’

The US Capitol was briefly evacuated on Wednesday evening after police identified an aircraft that they said posed “a probable threat” to the heart of American government.

The plane turned out to be members of the US Army Golden Knights, who parachuted into Nationals Park for a pregame display. The stadium, home of the Washington Nationals baseball team, is a little more than a mile away from the Capitol.

The alert from the US Capitol Police sent congressional staffers fleeing from the Capitol and legislative building around 6.30pm.

The incident suggested a stunning communications failure between the military, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Capitol Police, all the more remarkable because of Washington’s focus on improving security since the 6 January Capitol attack.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi blamed the FAA in a statement on Wednesday night, saying its “apparent failure to notify Capitol Police of the pre-planned flyover Nationals Stadium is outrageous and inexcusable.” The FAA did not respond to a request for comment.

Kelli LeGaspi, a spokeswoman for the US Army Recruiting Command, which was behind the Golden Knights’ demonstration, released a statement saying, “We are reviewing all aspects of the event to ensure all procedures were followed appropriately to coordinate both the flight and the parachute demonstration.”

Many who work on Capitol Hill have remained on edge more than a year after hundreds of pro-Trump rioters pushed their way past overwhelmed police officers, broke through windows and doors and ransacked the Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s electoral win.

In Wednesday’s incident, the aircraft took off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and had been circling inside heavily