Parachute demo for baseball game causes evacuation of US Capitol
The US Capitol has been briefly evacuated after police said they were tracking an aircraft “that poses a probable threat,” but the plane turned out to be a military aircraft with people parachuting out of it for a demonstration.
The alert to evacuate the Capitol came shortly after 6.30pm local time (8.30am AEST).
The aircraft, a single-engine plane, was reported to be circling around Washington after taking off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, two people familiar with the matter.
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The US Capitol was briefly evacuated after police said they were tracking an aircraft that poses a probable threat, but the plane turned out to be the military aircraft with people parachuting out of it for a demonstration. AP
A US Army parachutist enters the playing field at Nationals Park. AP
The people said the aircraft did not report taking off and did not have appropriate clearance.
The people were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The US Army Parachute Team the Golden Knights descend into Nationals Park before a baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks. AP
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The plane was carrying members of the US Army’s Golden Knights, who then parachuted into the Washington Nationals' baseball stadium for a pregame demonstration.
Nationals Park is a little more than a mile away from the US Capitol.
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