Sarah Stewart, an Oklahoma Department of Public Safety spokesperson, said someone at the state Capitol received an emailed threat at 9:55 a.m. The department’s bomb squad was dispatched as a precaution to sweep the building, but quickly gave an all clear.
No one was evacuated and business continued as usual during the sweep, she said. Some state employees working in the building said they were not aware of the bomb threat.
“It’s only if we believe it to be a credible threat that we’re going to evacuate people,” Stewart said.
Stewart said a department intelligence analyst had warned in advance that a threat was possible Wednesday. The information suggested it would likely be a hoax based on similar threats reported across the country, she said.
Oklahoma was among at least seven state Capitols to receive threats Wednesday. Officials in Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi and Montana also reported receiving similar bomb threats, according to reporting by other States Newsroom outlets.
In Michigan, officials evacuated and then closed that state’s Capitol for the day in response to the threat.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence.
