Second gentleman Doug Emhoff was rushed out of an event at a public school in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday in response to a bomb threat.
Emhoff was visiting Dunbar High School on Tuesday afternoon when a Secret Service agent said what sounded like, “We have to go,” according to a pool reporter from Spectrum News.
Emhoff’s staff told reporters that there was a security threat reported by the school to Secret Service. About 20 minutes after Emhoff was evacuated, the school announced over the intercom that teachers must also evacuate the building.
Enrique Gutierrez, a spokesman for D.C. Public Schools, confirmed that there was a bomb threat at the school.
“We had a threat today to the facility so we did — basically we took the precaution of evacuating everybody, as you saw,” Gutierrez said. “I think everyone is safe. The building is clear. But I don’t have any specific details at this moment.”
Dunbar Principal Nadine Smith, who attended the event with Emhoff, said that the schools protocol “is to clear the building and move the kids away.”
“DCPS just gave us directions to make sure, to go ahead and send the kids home,” she said. “We won’t be able to clear the building for probably another hour or two.”
Just minutes before being evacuated, Emhoff had entered the Dr. Lawrence Graves Museum of Dunbar High School History. Established in 1870, Dunbar was America’s first public high school for Black children. The second gentleman heard from school and program leaders about the Black history program in partnership with the National Park Service.
The bomb threat at Dunbar came soon after Atlanta’s Spelman College, a historically black college, faced yet another bomb threat.
“Throughout history, we have seen threats aimed at Black men and women in their homes, at Black students in our classrooms, and at Black children on the playground,” Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) said in a statement.
“These threats seek to intimidate and terrorize, but they will not succeed. All of us, HBCU students, alumni, and families, will continue to better ourselves through education and enlightenment, and these hateful threats will not oppress our drive towards excellence.”