The U.S. Secret Service is investigating after a white powder was reportedly found at the White House on Sunday.
The substance was discovered by members of the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service conducting routine rounds through the building, Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, told The Washington Post.
The substance indicated positive for cocaine, according to a dispatch from a fire crew that responded.
In audio footage, logged on a site called openmhz.com, a firefighter with the D.C. department’s hazardous materials team can be heard calling in the results of a test.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
“We have a yellow bar saying cocaine hydrochloride,” the firefighter said.
Guglielmi said that the substance is undergoing further testing to determine what it is, and there is “an investigation into the cause and manner” of how the substance entered the White House.
He said the discovery prompted a brief evacuation of the building, but the D.C. fire department determined the substance did not present a threat.
President Joe Biden was not in the White House at the time.
The Secret Service, the White House and the D.C. Fire Department have been contacted for comment via email.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
