RNC headquarters evacuated after vials of blood addressed to Trump found

The Republican National Committee’s headquarters in Washington were evacuated Wednesday morning after two vials of blood, addressed to former President Donald Trump, were discovered.

The Associated Press first reported the situation, noting that it is unknown where the vials came from and if anyone came into contact with them. Hazardous-materials teams from the U.S. Capitol Police were called in to address the situation.

The police cleared the suspicious package, which included two vials of blood and leaking ice packs, before 10 a.m. EDT, Politico reported. The vials were sealed. It was unclear whether any additional message accompanied the vials, other than Trump’s name.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is expected to accept the party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July. Trump all but secured the nomination in March, completing a sweep of early-voting states’ GOP primaries, and winning all but one of the Super Tuesday primaries.

In the subsequent months, Trump and his campaign have worked to align his campaign with the RNC. Chris LaCivita, a senior Trump campaign adviser, is now the RNC’s chief of staff; Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, is now the RNC’s co-chair.

In the past 24 hours, several prominent individuals — including a sitting member of Congress, a Fox News host and Trump himself — have promoted baseless theories that President Joe Biden is attempting to assassinate Trump. In a fundraising email Tuesday, Trump said Biden was “locked & loaded ready to take me out” when FBI agents raided his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, to retrieve classified documents in 2022.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on Twitter that “the Biden DOJ and FBI were planning to assassinate Pres Trump.” And on Wednesday morning, Fox News host Maria Bartiromo led a segment suggesting that the raid was designed to assassinate Trump.

Trump faces criminal charges for his handling of classified documents. On Tuesday, court filings were released that described the FBI’s court-authorized search plans. The plans included a statement that the officers may resort to lethal force only when faced with the “imminent danger of death or serious physical injury.”

The Washington Post reported that the raid was planned when Trump would be in New York, not in Florida, and the former president’s Secret Service detail was notified in advance.