White House on Lockdown After Airspace Violation Reported in Washington DC

The White House was been put on lockdown with members of the press sheltering in place after an “airspace violation” was reported in Washington, D.C. The lockdown was reportedly lifted around 9:15 a.m. ET. News of the lockdown was first reported just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday by members of the White House press pool, with a tweet from NBC News stating that fighter jets have also been deployed. At this time, the White House has not released a statement.

Contact had been lost with an aircraft flying above D.C., prompting the lockdown, reported NPR‘s Claudia Grisales. Grisales also noted that the U.S. Capitol had been under an evacuation order.

David Martosko of the Daily Mail, tweeted that he had been attempting to enter the White House as the lockdown went into affect. An “agent” told him that “an emergency” caused the lockdown, while another said that “the situation is ‘shelter-in-place.’” Martosko also tweeted that construction workers who had been working on fence replacements were told “everybody get out.”

According to officials and as reported by WJLA, the airspace violation does not appear to be hostile, and an evacuation order for the State Capitol has been called off, with people being told to go back inside. At this time, senior officials are monitoring the situation.

ABC News reports that the White House lockdown has since been lifted.

“The White House was locked down this morning due to a potential violation of the restricted airspace in the National Capital Region,” a Secret Service spokesman told CNBC in a statement. “The lockdown has been lifted at this time.”

President Donald Trump was scheduled to have the In-House Pool Call Time at 9:00 a.m. when the lockdown went into effect, according to his schedule. He is next set to sign the Executive Order establishing the task force on missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives before having lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at 12:45 p.m. It is unclear if the lockdown will have affected his schedule.