Vice President Kamala Harris was steps away from a pipe bomb during last year’s Capitol riot and was inside the Democratic National Committee building for about two hours before the device was discovered, according to a new report.
Multiple sources told CNN that Harris drove a short distance from the explosive device, which was located next to a bench outside the DNC on Jan. 6, 2021.
Her motorcade entered the headquarters garage around 11:30 a.m. and stopped in the parking deck near where the bomb was later discovered, according to the network.
Harris was previously reported to be in DNC headquarters when the device was found outside, but the CNN report sheds new light on how close she got to it and how long she stayed at the site before being evacuated.
The explosive was first investigated by the Capitol Police at 1:07 p.m. that day, according to a timeline of events obtained by Politico, and seven minutes later the Secret Service evacuated the then sen. Harris of the building.
According to an internal Capitol Police timeline, an unnamed “security guard” was removed at about 1:14 p.m. — seven minutes after police began investigating the bomb, CNN reported.
A pipe bomb had also been placed outside Republican National Committee headquarters. Both were reportedly neutralized by authorities later that afternoon.
Investigators believed the would-be terrorist left the devices the night before a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an attempt to undo the 2020 presidential election.
In September, the FBI released surveillance footage of a suspect sitting on a bench outside DNC headquarters on the night of January 5.
A law enforcement source told CNN that the U.S. Secret Service swept the building’s interior, driveway, parking deck, and entrances and exits before Harris arrived.
The source said she was evacuated via an alternate route away from the device.
“In order to maintain operational security, the Secret Service does not discuss protective means and methods,” a Secret Service spokesperson told the network in a statement.
The White House declined to comment on CNN, and the veep’s office referred the outlet to the Secret Service.
