WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington was briefly evacuated on Wednesday while police investigated two vials of blood that had been addressed to former President Donald Trump following the presumptive presidential candidate’s takeover of the national party apparatus.
Hazardous materials teams were called after the discovery of the vials, according to the U.S. Capitol Police, who said they would continue to investigate. It was unclear whether anyone came into contact with the blood and who it belonged to.
The vials were addressed to Trump, according to a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak about the matter publicly. It was unclear whether any message accompanied the vials explaining why they were sent.
Spokespeople for the RNC and the U.S. Secret Service did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The Metropolitan Police Department and local fire department referred comments to the Capitol Police.
Earlier Wednesday, Capitol Police issued a statement advising people to avoid the block where the RNC is located, a short walk southeast of the Capitol. The House Sergeant at Arms, chief law enforcement and protocol officer for the U.S. House of Representatives, sent information advising traffic restrictions in the area “due to law enforcement activity at the RNC.”
Trump’s handpicked leadership – including his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as the party’s national vice chair and former North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley, as RNC chairman – recently took over the RNC, completing their takeover of the national party by closing in on a third consecutive Republican Party presidential nomination. A senior adviser to the Trump campaign, Chris LaCivita, took over as RNC chief of staff.
Wednesday’s situation comes less than two months before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump is expected to become the party’s official nominee in 2024 and significant protests are expected. According to a letter sent last month to the Secret Service, RNC adviser Todd Steggerda asked authorities to keep protesters further away from the site than initially planned, arguing that an existing plan “creates an elevated security risk and unsustainable for the public present. ”
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Kinnard reported from Columbia, SC, and Price reported from New York. AP writers Ashraf Khalil and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed reporting.
