Baseball pregame show prompts brief evacuation of U.S. Capitol

A pregame performance at a Washington Nationals baseball game featuring the Army's Golden Knights prompted a brief evacuation of the U.S. Capitol.

Capitol Police evacuated the building Wednesday but then said there was no threat in a series of messages to staff members and journalists who work there.

"The Capitol was evacuated out of an abundance of caution this evening. There is no threat at the Capitol. More details to come," police said in a statement.

The Golden Knights parachuted into the stadium, blocks from the Capitol, as part of Military Appreciation Night. There was a miscommunication between Capitol Police and the organizers of the pregame events, two Capitol Police sources said.

Initially, police ordered the building to evacuate, saying in an email to staffers at the Capitol, “The USCP is tracking an aircraft that poses a probable threat to the Capitol Complex.”

The Army acknowledged there were issues with the event.

"We are reviewing all aspects of the event to ensure all procedures were followed appropriately to coordinate both the flight and the parachute demonstration," Kelli LeGaspi, spokeswoman for United States Army Recruiting Command, said in a statement.

In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the Capitol was evacuated due to the Federal Aviation Administration's "apparent failure to notify U.S. Capitol Police of pre-planned activities," and called for a review to determine what precisely went wrong.

"The Federal Aviation Administration’s apparent failure to notify Capitol Police of the pre-planned flyover Nationals Stadium is outrageous and inexcusable," Pelosi wrote. "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."

Alexandra Hejduk, a spokesperson for North American Aerospace Defense Command, said everything in regard to the flight was FAA compliant and “no fighter jets were scrambled,” adding that NORAD was not involved.

Congress is in recess this week, meaning most lawmakers are back in their home states and fewer staffers are usually around.