Suspicious package reported outside the US Capitol just hours before Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation

  • The unidentified item was reportedly sighted at the East Front of the Capitol
  • Officers from the United States Capitol Police Department are investigating
  • A spokesperson for the told DailyMail.com that that package has 'been cleared'

A suspicious package was reported outside the US Capitol in Washington DC, less than an hour before Senators were set to vote on Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court. 

The unidentified item was reportedly sighted close to the East Front of the Capitol Building, near to the Supreme Court, at around 6:30pm on Monday evening.

Officers from the United States Capitol Police Department were on the scene investigating.

A spokesperson for the department told DailyMail.com that the package was 'cleared' around 30 minutes later, just after 7:05pm.

No further information was immediately available. 

Police temporarily closed roads surrounding the Capitol Building and Supreme Court after the package was reported. The roads have since been reopened to traffic. 

A suspicious package has been reported outside the US Capitol in Washington DC, just hours before Amy Coney Barrett is set to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice

A suspicious package has been reported outside the US Capitol in Washington DC, just hours before Amy Coney Barrett is set to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice

Swaths of protesters demonstrating against the expected confirmation of Barrett gathered outside the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon, ahead of this evening's vote. 

The group, many of whom were dressed in costumes from the book and TV series The Handmaid's Tale, were calling for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to be removed from the White House.

A group of Barrett supporters also gathered nearby. Chanting, 'we are the pro-life generation', members of the Students For Life group were heard calling for the abolition of Roe v Wade and seen holding up signs of Barrett with the word 'Hope' emblazoned in bold lettering.

Barrett, a mother-of-seven, is all but guaranteed a confirmation by the Republican-held Senate - just eight days before the 2020 election. 

The 48-year-old, an appellate judge for the 7th circuit, is a staunch Roman Catholic and life-long conservative. Her personal pro-life views have raised eyebrows among progressives who claim she will dismantle a woman's right to an abortion by working to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Her lifetime appointment to the highest U.S. court will also drastically change the makeup of the Supreme Court for a generation to come.

Barrett, a mother-of-seven, is all but guaranteed a confirmation by the Republican-held Senate - just eight days before the 2020 election

Barrett, a mother-of-seven, is all but guaranteed a confirmation by the Republican-held Senate - just eight days before the 2020 election

Swaths of protesters demonstrating against the expected confirmation of Barrett gathered outside the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon, ahead of this evening's vote

Swaths of protesters demonstrating against the expected confirmation of Barrett gathered outside the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon, ahead of this evening's vote

A group of Barrett supporters also gathered nearby. Chanting, 'we are the pro-life generation', members of the Students For Life group were heard calling for the abolition of Roe v Wade and seen holding up signs of Barrett with the word 'Hope' emblazoned in bold lettering

A group of Barrett supporters also gathered nearby. Chanting, 'we are the pro-life generation', members of the Students For Life group were heard calling for the abolition of Roe v Wade and seen holding up signs of Barrett with the word 'Hope' emblazoned in bold lettering

Barrett has embraced her classification as the 'female Antonin Scalia' and says his jurisprudential practice of 'applying the law as written' will be how she serves.

During the three days of confirmation hearings earlier this month, including a day of opening statements and two days of questioning, Barrett reiterated her stance as a textualist and originalist, stressing this means she would apply the Constitution to cases as it's written and was intended by the drafters.

In the short term, Barrett could help decide election and voting-related issues as the vote on her confirmation comes just over a week before Election Day.

Donald Trump has made it clear he feels the results of the election could end up at the Supreme Court – and with a conservative majority of 6-3 with Barrett seated, it's more likely they would rule in favor of the president.

Also about a week after the election the Supreme Court will take up a case on the Affordable Care Act, which Democrats fear will be overturned if Barrett has anything to say about it. 

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