TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s Capitol building was shut down Thursday morning after a bomb threat was made overnight and now, a suspect has been taken into custody.
According to officials, out of an abundance of caution, the Capitol was closed to employees until 9 a.m.
Authorities said the complex was searched by law enforcement and explosive-detecting dogs were brought in to check the building.
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As of 7 a.m., no explosive devices were found and nothing suspicious had been identified.
Tallahassee police said they located Mark Wayne Clark, 61, at a bar about 3 miles from the Capitol and took him into custody on a charge of making a false bomb threat against state property.
Officers were dispatched to the bar after receiving a call from an employee who told authorities that a man clad in camouflage had talked about planting a bomb at the Capitol, which was supposed to go off at 8 a.m.
Clark was taken into custody without incident, according to a police report.
The Tallahassee Police Department said the arrest was the result of collaborative investigation among Capitol Police, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Leon County Sheriff’s Office and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Florida state workers were allowed to return to work at the Capitol following a sweep of the premises.
Law enforcement officials have been on high alert since state capitols were targeted with threats of violence following an insurrection at the U.S Capitol on Jan. 6. Florida’s Capitol had been on heightened security since Sunday, when the country braced for potential violence at state capitals in all 50 states. In Florida, no mobs materialized.