US Republican HQ locked down for ‘hazmat’ threat 

Vials of blood were reportedly mailed to the party’s offices in Washington, DC

The Republican National Committee’s (RNC) offices in Washington, DC were placed on lockdown on Wednesday morning, following reports of a hazardous material discharge.

Police cordoned off the building on Capitol Hill, while fire trucks and ambulances were parked nearby. The lockdown was eventually lifted around 9:40am local time, with no official explanation as to what happened.

“It sounds like vials of blood were sent in a package and something broke open,” an anonymous source told the New York Post.

Congresswoman Ana Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, partly confirmed this claim. “Blood in vial was sent to RNC HQ,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Along with some other things.”

There were no reports of injuries.