A man drove a black pickup truck onto the sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress at 9:15 a.m. ET, claiming he had a bomb and displayed what looked like a detonator to the officer on the scene, according to US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger.
Negotiators are in communication with the suspect and are trying to come to a “resolution,” Manger told reporters at a press conference near the Capitol.
Manger said the suspect had been live-streaming and that officials have a “possible name,” but added “we don’t have much information about him at this time.”
“We don’t know what his motives are at this time,” he said.
Video has been posted on Facebook by the suspect, a law enforcement official told CNN. CNN is not yet naming the suspect. A video that lasts about a half hour shows an individual from inside a truck, holding a cannister that he says is a bomb and speaking about a “revolution.”
The pickup truck the man drove to the scene does not have license plates, sources told CNN.
Two Library of Congress buildings — the Jefferson and the Madison — and the Cannon House Office Building are being evacuated due to a suspicious vehicle in the vicinity, according to alerts sent to staffers viewed by CNN.
Staffers in the Madison and Jefferson buildings on Thursday were alerted by email to remain calm and relocate — and not to exit toward First Street. Those in Cannon were advised to relocate to the Longworth House Office Building using the Capitol’s underground tunnels.
The Senate and House are not in session, and most lawmakers are not currently in their offices.
The Supreme Court has also been evacuated on the recommendation of US Capitol Police, according to a spokesperson for the court, which is closed to the public because of Covid-19.
The White House is monitoring the situation on Capitol Hill and is receiving updates from law enforcement, a senior administration official told CNN.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Evan Perez, Veronica Stracqualursi, Annie Grayer, Laura Smitherman, Jessica Schneider, Zachary Cohen, Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.
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