The Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington DC was plunged into lockdown after vials of blood were sent to former president Donald Trump.
US Capitol Police were called to the Republican party’s building at around 7.45am ET on Wednesday morning to a report of a “suspicious package”.
A police spokesperson told The Independent that a package had been sent to the building containing two vials of blood. It was addressed to Mr Trump.
The building was briefly evacuated and a Hazmat team called in, with the USCP urging people to avoid the surrounding area.
The House sergeant at arms also issued a message regarding traffic restrictions “due to law enforcement activity at the RNC”, given the headquarters are directly across the street from US House office buildings and just southeast of the Capitol.
USCP gave the all-clear at the RNC building around two hours later.
“The package was just cleared by our Hazardous Incident Response Division. It contained two vials of blood,” the spokesperson said shortly after 10am.
“The source of the package and its contents will be further investigated.”
No one was injured in the incident. It is not clear who sent the package.
The Independent has contacted the RNC for comment.
Mr Trump recently took charge of the RNC with its new leadership team consisting of a string of his allies – and even family members.
In March, former North Carolina GOP chair and RNC general counsel Michael Whatley was elected as its new chair following the departure of Ronna McDaniel.
Mr Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was also elected vice-chair of the RNC, cementing the Trump family’s control of how Republican campaign cash gets spent. Senior Trump campaign advisor Chris LaCivita is also the RNC chief of staff.
The Republican National Convention will take place in Milwaukee in less than two months, where Mr Trump is set to be announced as his party’s nominee for the third election cycle in a row.
Major protests are expected, with RNC counsel Todd Steggerda asking in a letter to the Secret Service that protesters be kept further back from the site than initially planned, arguing that the first plan “creates an elevated and untenable safety risk to the attending public”.
Associated Press contributed to this report
