(WXYZ) — Michigan State Police say the Capitol building in Lansing was evacuated on Wednesday morning following an emailed threat.
According to MSP, the threat was emailed to a general account for the Michigan State Capitol Commission around 7:45 a.m. Officials say they are aware of similar threats sent to government agencies across the country.
State officials say they received text messages and emails regarding the threat and the eventual evacuation.
"I was at home working remotely in my home office and got an alert in all caps saying that there was an emergency and that the Capitol needed to evacuate immediately," Democratic Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Michigan's 8th District said. "I think that the disheartening thing was as soon as I saw it, I said, you know, it's a new year and we're back to the same old."
McMorrow says threats on government officials or government buildings are threats to democracy, especially during such an important election year.
"We have seen sort of a rise in events like this over the past few years where people feel comfortable making threats to disrupt or to intimidate, whether it's violence or bomb threats or shooting threats," she said. "So this to me sends a signal heading into a major election year that there are going to be a lot of threats and intimidation, not necessarily on Washington, but at the state level."
Around 1 p.m., Michigan State Police said they completed a sweep of the building and found no threat.
The Capitol will remained closed for the remainder of the day to visitors.
The FBI released a statement on the threats to state capitol buildings across the country. It reads:
"The FBI is aware of the numerous hoax incidents wherein a bomb threat at a state capital is made. The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately."
