Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff was escorted away from a Washington, DC high school after a bomb threat, before a full evacuation of all students and staff was announced
Emhoff’s communications director Katie Peters confirmed the second gentleman was unharmed after the “security threat,” which took place as he visited DC’s Dunbar High School for a Black History Month event on Tuesday.
“US Secret Service was made aware of a security threat at a school where the Second Gentleman was meeting with students and faculty,” Peters said in a statement. “Mr. Emhoff is safe and the school has been evacuated. We are grateful to [the] Secret Service and DC Police for their work.”
Footage circulating online showed a significant police presence was seen outside the school soon after the evacuation. Though law enforcement searched the building, as of 3pm local time, no explosive was found, police spokeswoman Kristen Metzger told the Washington Post.
The Secret Service issued a brief statement of its own, noting that “there is no information to indicate the threat was directed toward our protectee” – referring to Emhoff – though declined to elaborate, as the agency “does not discuss our protectees or the means and methods used to conduct our protective operations.”
The DC public school district later confirmed that the incident was a bomb threat, stating that all students, staff and visitors were accounted for and safe.
“This afternoon, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to a bomb threat at Dunbar High School,” it said. “All students and visitors were safely evacuated in accordance with DC Public Schools protocols and given the time of the incident, students were then dismissed for the school day.”
Ahead of Emhoff’s visit, his office published a release stating that he would visit Dunbar to commemorate Black History month and “meet with students who are participating in a program that helps them relate to history on a personal level.”
Emhoff’s wife, Vice President Kamala Harris – who did not attend the event at Dunbar – experienced her own bomb scare last year, forcing her evacuation from the Democratic National Committee headquarters during the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Working pipe bombs were discovered at both the DNC and Republican National Committee buildings soon after.
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