Nation’s capital on edge: Inauguration rehearsal is dramatically evacuated due to ‘external security threat’ that turned out to be a fire caused by a homeless woman using propane inside her tent – amid fears of an imminent ‘insider attack’
- A fire under a bridge near the Capitol building produced huge plumes of smoke on Monday morning
- It sent the nearby rehearsal into a panic and staffers ran for their lives from the bleachers set up
- A loudspeaker announcement played warning people to evacuate; no public officials were in attendance
- Staffers in nearby buildings were told to stay away from windows and the military was evacuated
- The fire department later tweeted that the smoke came from a fire beneath a bridge a short distance away
- The fire was started by a homeless woman using propane inside her tent that caused ‘an explosion’
- The scare comes amid growing fears of an attack on Wednesday after an unprecedented period of unrest
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A rehearsal for the inauguration had to be called off and everyone in attendance evacuated on Monday morning due to an ‘external security threat’ that turned out to be nothing more than a fire beneath a nearby bridge.
Staffers ran from bleachers that were set up ahead of Wednesday’s event while an evacuation warning played in the background.
Staffers were also sent text messages telling them to stay away from windows.
But the fire department tweeted shortly before 11am that no one was injured and that the smoke was coming from a nearby fire on H Street South East.
They later explained that the fire was caused by a homeless woman who was using propane inside her tent.
The scare comes amid growing fears of an insider attack on the Biden inauguration, and while the nation still reels from the Capitol Building riot on January 6.
People evacuate from the West Front of the U.S. Capitol during a rehearsal the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021
US military during a rehearsal for President-elect Joe Biden’s Presidential Inauguration in US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 18 January 2021
People evacuate from the West Front of the U.S. Capitol during a rehearsal the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021
Smoke started rising behind the Capitol building on Monday morning which made people rehearsing the inauguration panic
This is where the fire originated – beneath a bridge behind the US Capitol Building
Members of the military band evacuate from the West Front of the U.S. Capitol due to a security threat
People evacuate from the West Front of the U.S. Capitol after a security threat during a rehearsal the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021
Members of the military shelter in place at the U.S. Capitol after a dress rehearsal for the 59th inaugural ceremony for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
The fire was started by a homeless woman who was using propane inside her tent. It caused an ‘explosion’ that was heard in the area. She was not seriously injured
Huge plumes of smoke coming from beneath the freeway by-pass on Monday morning
The evacuation was first reported shortly after 10.40am.
‘Overhead announcement to those of us in Inauguration rehearsals just now at the Capitol saying there’s an external security threat, no entry or exit, stay away from exterior windows & doors, if outside to seek cover,’ one journalist at the scene tweeted.
The fire department tweeted less than an hour later: ‘#DCsBravest responded to an outside fire in the 100 block of H St SE that has been extinguished. There were no injuries. This accounts for smoke that many have seen.
‘Update outside fire 100 block of H St SE. Fire involved a homeless tent beneath freeway. #DCsBravest quickly extinguished fire.
‘Occupant indicated she was using propane, which may explain report of “explosion “. 1 individual with non life threatening injury.’ They did not specify what she was using the propane for.
DC is already on high alert with road blocks and a ‘ring of steel’ of security ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration
The dress rehearsal had not yet resumed by 11.30am.
The security for Wednesday’s event will be on a larger scale than any other in recent history.
Some 25,000 armed National Guardsmen will be in Washington DC for it. Many are already there and have been since the immediate aftermath of the January 6 MAGA mob riot.
But defense officials say they are now fearful of an insider attack that could threaten the event.
All of the troops who will be in Washington to protect the event have to be vetted first by the FBI.
One Army reservist with ‘secret’ security clearance has already been arrested for his alleged part in the Capitol siege earlier this month.
Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 30, of New Jersey was described in court papers as an ‘avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer’ who allegedly ‘encouraged’ other violent rioters before being charged Friday.