US Capitol Police Confirm Evacuation Due To Military Plane Headed To Nats Park

Updated (2 p.m.): This story was updated with information from the U.S. Capitol Police.

WASHINGTON, DC — A day after U.S Capitol building in Washington, D.C. was evacuated briefly due to an unidentified aircraft flying nearby, the U.S. Capitol Police say the decision was not taken lightly, according to a release.

"The last time we had an evacuation due to a potential air threat was in June of 2014. Every week the USCP is made aware of hundreds of authorized flights in the restricted airspace. It is extremely unusual not to be made aware of a flight in advance," according to the release.

USCP made the decision to evacuate when the aircraft was spotted seconds away.

"As soon as it was determined that we were not given advanced notice of an approved flight, our officers followed USCP policies and procedures and immediately led everyone safely out of the Congressional buildings. Seconds matter," according to the release.

The Washington Post reported that the evacuation was ordered shortly after a single-engine plane that had taken off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland was seen circling in the area of the capitol.

Hugo Lowell, a congressional reporter with The Guardian, posted on Twitter that the Capitol Police were told that a plane circling the area near the capitol was carrying the U.S. Army's Golden Knights Parachute Team and the Capitol was cleared "out of an abundance of caution."

On Thursday, USCP confirmed that the aircraft was a military plane on its way to Nationals Park for the Washington Nationals baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Golden Knights were part of the pre-game activities for Military Appreciation Night.