Suspected Explosive Device Found and Brought Indoors Prompts Wyoming Capitol Evacuation

BY  MEAD GRUVER

The Wyoming Capitol, including the governor’s office, was evacuated Tuesday after a person found a suspected explosive device in front of the building and brought it inside.

The grounds were searched with drones and bomb-sniffing dogs following discovery of the device on the state seal between the building’s front steps and the street, according to a statement from the Wyoming Highway Patrol, which provides security for the Capitol.

The evacuation began around 9:45 a.m. after the discoverer, whose identity wasn’t released, brought the object indoors. Authorities announced in late afternoon the building would not reopen Tuesday.

Gov. Mark Gordon was among those evacuated, as well as other members of the Wyoming Stable Token Commission who were meeting in a basement-level room near the Capitol, located in Cheyenne.

Authorities did not elaborate on what was found except that it appeared homemade and not a factory produced object such as a military round, Wyoming Highway Patrol spokesperson Aaron Brown said. Whether the object was rendered safe in any way also was not immediately disclosed, but patrol officials said anyone with information should contact the state Division of Criminal Investigation.

“Whether it’s real or not, our biggest concern is safety of the public,” Brown said.

Police closed nearby streets to traffic but reopened them by evening. Workers who sheltered in place in two state office buildings connected to the Capitol by an underground passageway were allowed to leave through designated exits in the afternoon.

The governor, state auditor and state treasurer were among the committee members who halted their meeting in room off the corridor and evacuated from the area, said Amy Edmonds, the governor’s spokesperson.

A video recording showed the sparsely attended meeting being adjourned for the evacuation almost an hour after it began.

Gordon was working with law enforcement and monitoring the situation, Edmonds said.

The Wyoming Capitol is home to the main offices of the governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state superintendent of public instruction, and attorney general, as well as the state House and Senate chambers.

Dating to 1890, the year that Wyoming became a state, the building reopened in 2019 following a three-year renovation.