The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) in Washington, DC, evacuated staff yesterday, April 18, after a bomb threat was called into the museum. The threat was made at around 5:28pm, two minutes before closing time after most of the visitors and workers had left the premises. No injuries or damages were reported.
The Smithsonian Office of Protection Services conducted a full sweep of the building and confirmed that all evacuated staff were accounted for. A spokesperson for the Smithsonian Institution confirmed in an email to Hyperallergic that the National Park police arrived to investigate with explosive-sniffing dogs and determined that there was no credible threat to the museum shortly before 9pm that evening.
As the Metropolitan Police Department has currently taken over the investigation, NMAH was cleared to operate as scheduled, opening back up to the public at 10am today, April 19.
This is a developing story and will be updated with any new information as it becomes available.
Editor’s note 4/19/24 5:15pm EST: A previous version of this article featured an image of the National Museum of Natural History. The story has been updated with a photo of the National Museum of American History.
