Police clear Caldwell Building after bomb threat forces evacuation

A bomb threat forced state employees to evacuate the Caldwell Building in Tallahassee on Monday.

The evacuation took place just before 10:00 a.m. and drew a response from several local law enforcement agencies including the Tallahassee Police Department and Capitol Police.

The building, located steps away from the Florida Capitol Building, hosts the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.  The department oversees state economy issues including Florida’s heavily criticized unemployment system. The evacuation came the same day DEO head Ken Lawson resigned, though the two events appear unrelated.

No employees were injured during evacuation.

In a statement to Florida Politics, a DEO spokeswoman said the building has been cleared and employees were given the option to work remotely for the remainder of the day.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tallahassee Police and Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.