Past Capitol Incidents

Today's scare at the Rayburn House Office Building was the latest in a series of incidents there. Some of the others:

July 2, 1998: Russell E. Weston Jr., a Montana man with a history of mental illness, storms past a checkpoint at the Capitol and fatally shoots Officers Jacob J. Chestnut and John M. Gibson.

October 2002: A letter containing anthrax spores is opened in the office of then-Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) The discovery leads to the closing of the Capitol and Senate and House office buildings. The Hart Senate Office Building, where the letter was opened, was quarantined the longest, for 96 days.

Oct. 30, 2003 : Authorities lock down the Cannon House Office Building amid fears that a gunman is in the building. It turned out that two congressional staffers had gotten past a security checkpoint with Halloween costumes and a toy gun in their bags.

Feb. 2, 2004: Authorities find traces of ricin, a lethal poison, in the mail room of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. That building and two others were sealed and more than 5,000 staffers were locked out of their offices.

June 9, 2004: A twin-engine Beechcraft King Air plane enters Washington's restricted airspace, leading to the evacuation of the Capitol, where thousands were gathered to await the arrival of President Ronald Reagan's coffin. The plane turned out to be carrying the governor of Kentucky.

May 11, 2005: A Cessna 150 plane enters Washington's restricted airspace, triggering the frantic evacuation of the Capitol and Supreme Court. The plane was intercepted by Air Force jets lobbing warning flare. The pilots, from Pennsylvania, got lost as they approached the region.

Feb. 9, 2006: A sensor signals the presence of a nerve agent in the Russell Senate Office Building, leading to the evacuation of about 200 people, including about a dozen senators. It turned out to be a false alarm.