Bomb Scare

Bomb threat ‘in the name of Palestine’ shut down Pa. state Capitol on Saturday

Law enforcement didn’t find any explosives after an anonymous email address threatened state lawmakers

Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A view of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania’s state Capitol building in Harrisburg was evacuated on Saturday evening after an anonymous email address sent bomb threats to every state lawmaker “in the name of Palestine.” 

Writing from an email address named “eternal glory to our martyrs,” the perpetrator said they hid lead azide devices — a type of explosive — throughout the Capitol complex and “plan on triggering one device every few hours until Joe Biden goes on national television and publicly denounces the illegitimate state of Israel.” The author of the email claimed to be hiding in one of the buildings with a knife, according to the news site PennLive

After evacuating the mostly empty building, law enforcement did not find any explosives, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Another email was sent to lawmakers on Sunday night with a pledge to shoot President Joe Biden. 

Lawmakers were back at the Capitol on Monday. A spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro declined to comment on Monday.

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