Police briefly placed the US Capitol building and visitors center on lockdown on Friday after a person brought a suspicious object to the premises but the order was swiftly lifted. Shortly before 9 am, an unidentified employee passing into the Capitol from the Rayburn House Office Building was found in possession of an object that later proved not to be a weapon, the Capitol Police said in a statement.
Police had ordered the lockdown out of "an abundance of caution," according to the statement, which did not identify the employee or the object in question. Capitol police had ordered staff and visitors in the Capitol building and the adjacent visitor center to immediately take cover and to stay away from external doors and windows, a Senate statement said. The all-clear announcement was made after about 40 minutes.