White House, Capitol briefly on lockdown due to airspace violation

The White House and the Capitol were on lockdown briefly Tuesday morning after an airspace violation in Washington.

The Secret Service and Capitol police prevented people from entering or leaving the White House and congressional buildings, until the all-clear signal was given around 9 a.m. Construction workers who have been working on a new fence at the White House were temporarily ordered to evacuate the grounds.

Law enforcement officials told NBC News that the lockdowns were prompted by an airspace violation and that fighter jets were scrambled to respond to the situation.

Capitol police said the complex was shut down for 45 minutes “in an abundance of caution.” They said the report of a possible aircraft in restricted airspace came in at 8:27 a.m.