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Vice President Kamala Harris came within yards of a pipe bomb during last year’s US Capitol riot – and was inside the Democratic National Committee building for about two hours before the device was discovered, according to a new report.
Several sources told CNN that Harris drove just a short distance away from the explosive, which was lying next to a bench outside the DNC on Jan. 6, 2021.
Her motorcade pulled into the headquarters garage about 11:30 a.m. and stopped at the parking deck near where the bomb was later discovered, according to the network.
It has previously been reported that Harris was inside the 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 remained at the site before being evacuated.
The explosive was first investigated by 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 then-Sen. Harris from the building.
According to an internal Capitol Police timeline, an unnamed “protectee” was removed at about 1:14 p.m. — seven minutes after law enforcement began investigating the bomb, CNN reported.
A pipe bomb also had been placed outside the 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 then-President Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
In September, the FBI released surveillance footage of a suspect sitting on a bench outside DNC’s headquarters on the night of Jan. 5.
A law enforcement source told CNN that the US Secret Service had swept the interior of the building, the driveway, parking deck and entrances and exits before Harris’ arrival.
The source said she was evacuated using 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 spokesman told the network in a statement.
The White House declined to comment to CNN and the veep’s office referred the outlet to the Secret Service.
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