A bomb threat directed toward the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was found not to be credible, the national party and Capitol Police said Thursday — an incident that came less than 24 hours after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“This afternoon, there was a bomb threat to DNC HQ that was determined to not be credible by the U.S. Capitol Police,” a DNC spokesperson said in a statement.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Capitol Police is conducting an interior sweep of the building. As DNC Chair Ken Martin has said, political violence in every form has no place in our country,” the spokesperson continued. “We are grateful to the U.S. Capitol Police and DNC building security for responding quickly and professionally.”
Senate staff had earlier received an alert from Capitol Police that it was responding to an incident at the national party’s headquarters. Capitol Police said in its own statement that it had been alerted to the potential threat at 1:07 p.m. EDT and was checking the building and areas nearby, but had found nothing outside.
“USCP officers immediately responded and are currently checking the building and surrounding areas,” the police said. “So far nothing has been found outside. We are checking inside of the building out of an abundance of caution.”
The threat came in the wake of prominent conservative commentator and Trump ally Kirk’s assassination while speaking to students at an event in Orem, Utah.
A suspect has not been found or a motive determined, but the news instantly rattled lawmakers from both parties amid a troubling rise in political violence.
Several historically Black colleges and universities said Thursday they received campus threats on Thursday.
Hampton University, Virginia State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Southern University, and Alabama State University are all on lockdown after receiving threats, according to officials.