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Bomb Threat Forces Evacuation of DC TEA Party Planners

September 11, 2009 4:50 PM

On the eve of what organizers call a 'Big Ol' TEA Party', the Washington, D.C., offices of FreedomWorks were evacuated by DC Metro police on Friday afternoon after the conservative organization reported to authorities at 3:42 pm ET that it had received a bomb threat. 

At 4:48 pm ET, the organization put out a Twitter message saying that it turned out to be a false alarm but the organization is not happy about the disruption.

DavisMy colleague, ABC News' Teddy Davis has the story:

Tens of thousands of anti-big government activists are expected in Washington on Saturday as part of a "March on Washington" being organized by FreedomWorks, a conservative group headed by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas.

A FreedomWorks staffer told ABC News that the organization's offices at 601 Pennsylvania Avenue were evacuated on Friday afternoon by DC Metro Police because of a bomb scare.

DC Metro police has confirmed to ABC News' Jason Ryan that the DC Metro police had, indeed, evacuated the organization's offices after being told by the organization that it had received a bomb threat.

The threat came when a man called the FreedomWorks main line and told the organization's female receptionist: "I put a bomb in your building, bitch."

The FreedomWorks staffer who spoke with ABC News said that the organization has received multiple threats but that for some reason, the DC Metro police thought that this one was credible enough to evacuate the building.

The FreedomWorks staffer did not fear for his safety but worried that it was an effort to disrupt the organization's ability to round up activists in advance of tomorrow's "March on Washington" which is expected to bring tens of thousands of activists to the nation's capital.  

The FreedomWorks staffers says that 50 volunteers were forced to leave the office where they were making calls encouraging people to come to tomorrow's event.  

Freedomworksphoto2

(Photo credit/Adam Brandon of FreedomWorks)

September 11, 2009 in Washington | Permalink | Share | User Comments (405)

User Comments

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Oh come on, don't give the crazies fodder. Great. We will never hear the end of this one.

Posted by: Arkie49er | Sep 11, 2009 5:13:38 PM

What? They can disrupt every town hall meeting held this summer, but boy you'd better not disrupt them!

Typical, immature behavior of bullies.

Posted by: TexBelle123 | Sep 11, 2009 5:24:41 PM

From what I know about these nut jobs, they probably had one of their members send in the threat to get press and to have an excuse for the pitiful turnout. I saw a tea party on FOX News recently. They had everyone huddle in close and hold up signs so it looked like there were more than 10 people there.

Posted by: GreggW | Sep 11, 2009 5:27:26 PM

Did you guys call in the threat on your own? Something, anything to drum up some support. Certainly sounds like something they'd do.

Posted by: bravebrick | Sep 11, 2009 5:35:47 PM

Baggers called it in themselves. Nuts will do anything for attention.

Posted by: Jordon | Sep 11, 2009 5:38:09 PM

wow - why all the angry comments? im not political either way, never have been.. but in america everyone should be welcome to protest, regardless. that's part of what makes us great.

Posted by: notpolitical | Sep 11, 2009 5:39:15 PM

why no acorn story abc?

Posted by: weewilly | Sep 11, 2009 5:49:19 PM

Really sounds like more Acorn work to me

Posted by: stupidISasStupidVotes | Sep 11, 2009 5:50:03 PM

We should just get rid of the internet and have ABC news.

Posted by: Anexio | Sep 11, 2009 5:52:55 PM

Who is John Galt?

Posted by: Spencer | Sep 11, 2009 5:53:41 PM

Oh yes the conservatives did it to themselves. They must have gotten the idea from the Democrats vandalism in Denver which they blamed conservatives for when it turned out to be one of their own.

Or maybe the so called forces of Progressiveness may be realizing that maybe, just maybe they do NOT enjoy the popular support of the majority of Americans

Posted by: Stacy Brian Bartley | Sep 11, 2009 5:54:55 PM

a bunch of nuts your time is coming wait until all you have if you have anything is gone you bunch of libral jerks why do you want to see AMERICA to fail don't you know we are the ones that keep the wolves at bay and i would not put it past ACORN TO HAVE CALLED THIS BOMB THREAT IN you are not going to stop freedom you can bet on that.

Posted by: FLOYD CHANDLER | Sep 11, 2009 5:56:08 PM

Progressives are actually regressives. They apparently look back fondly on all the benifits of a state run and controlled Everything ALA the USSR. Failed then, will again

Posted by: stupidISasStupidVotes | Sep 11, 2009 5:57:09 PM

Probably GLEN BECK!

Posted by: joker1956 | Sep 11, 2009 5:57:46 PM

we need another czar to handle this

Posted by: catman | Sep 11, 2009 5:58:19 PM

thx - Liberty Belle - looks like this page does have 1 REAL reporter.

Posted by: acorn_pimps | Sep 11, 2009 5:59:09 PM

Check out the first five comments or so. All very immature, calling the protestors nut jobs. Why because they have nerve to think that their money is their money? How weird to think that your hard work should be yours.

If I work 4 hours a day to pay for the benefit of someone else, then am I not a slave to that person for that 4 hours? every day 5 days a week, 365 days a year. I am a slave to someone else.

Posted by: the last intellectual | Sep 11, 2009 5:59:43 PM

Hey arkie, I got your fodder for the crazies. Why would the US Coast Guard do something as stupid as what they did on the Potomac River this morning without warning, and of all days, September 11? Is that tied in with the bomb threat to the Tea Party planners? Why would DC Police not take previous threats seriously, but today took it seriously? Could it be they want people to be too terrorised to protest? After all, there is some nutjob threatening the planners of the protest.

Yeah, that was all made up in my silly little brain with no evidence or rationality to support it..............

but it makes as much sense as what we are told by the mainstream media to believe happened eight years ago.

Posted by: Tom | Sep 11, 2009 6:00:01 PM

"anti-big government activists"
How about pro-small government activists?
No bias here!

Posted by: Frank | Sep 11, 2009 6:00:02 PM

Sounds like a democrat/communist to me. Setting bombs was Barack Obama's best buddy Bill Ayers favorite way of doing things.

What's that you say? Bill Ayers has nothing to do with Obama?

Oh really? Obama worked for Ayers and helped him funnel tens of millions dollars to ACORN. (Obama's former employer)

And what about convicted felon Jeff Jones, no relation to Van Jones, the co-founder with Ayers, of the ultra-violent Weather Underground domestic terrorist group?

Jeff Jones, the terrorist, is part of the Apollo Alliance, and helped write Obama's stimulus package, you know, the trill dollar deal that absolutely NO ONE in Congress read before voting to pass it!

Oh yeah, and Van Jones is part of Apollo as well.

But there is no connection to violent anti-American terrorists, and Obama?

Really?

Hmmmm.

Posted by: Gary | Sep 11, 2009 6:00:17 PM

So let me get this straight.... It's not OK to be VOCAL with no violence (except a pro Obamacare nutjob hitting off a finger) and staying within the law but it's perfectly fine to threaten people's lives (which of course is against the law). Priceless.

Posted by: TomM | Sep 11, 2009 6:01:42 PM

The protest was organized by "Freedom Works"?

That is a blatant LIE as in
"You Lie". Freedom Works may have decided to join in the protest, but they sure as heck are NOT responsible for it. This protest is being attended by people who decided enough was enough. Not one organization that I know of, solicited ANYBODY to attend.

Posted by: just a dad | Sep 11, 2009 6:02:03 PM

On a day where the anti-life movement gun downed a protestor, is there any suprise that the same types would call in a bomb threat to stop the peaceful assembly of citizens excersing their right to free speach?

Posted by: John Galt | Sep 11, 2009 6:02:17 PM

All I hear from the "Left" is how the "Right" are such mean people .... well from the comments on here I would say that the left must have taught us how to be mean. Bomb threat called in which breaks "the law" that I think we all live by?? What do you say lefties ... do you believe in the law anymore?

Posted by: FoundingFathers | Sep 11, 2009 6:02:32 PM

Since the President essentially declared war on the citizenry Wednesday night, I'm not surprised at a bomb threat. Keep your eye on the ball, there's much more afoot with this Administration and Legislsature; none of it is good.

Posted by: Punkindrublic | Sep 11, 2009 6:02:41 PM

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