Capitol scare

last updated 8 January 2015

Washington, D.C.

Part of the U.S. Capitol was evacuated this week after a man stood outside in “a statue pose” with two black suitcases at his feet, and refused to leave. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said the man, Wenhao Zhao, 33, of Australia, refused to “speak to anybody but the president.” Afraid the suitcases contained bombs, police shut down the side of the Capitol facing Washington’s National Mall during one of D.C.’s busiest tourist times, the annual cherry-blossom season. The standoff ended when two officers tackled the man and found nothing suspicious in the suitcases. Police said they had no idea what the man wanted. He was charged with disobeying a police officer.