An abandoned vehicle caused a security alert outside the White House with US Secret Services closing most of the surrounding area to traffic and pedestrians.
The suspicious vehicle was found near the New Executive Office building on Wednesday morning. Several emergency vehicles responded to the incident.
Secret Services tweeted at 5:24am that a suspicious automobile had been identified near 17th St. NW, and that the building was being evacuated. Agents began cordoning off the area to set up a secure perimeter and reroute traffic.
Services later tweeted that traffic had been prevented from using 17th St. from G to H around 5:27am.
Explosive Ordinance Detection unit finally cleared the vehicle at 6:22am and subsequent road closures were lifted, with the exception of Pennsylvania Avenue and Lafayette Park.