A bomb threat emailed to officials in several states early Wednesday briefly disrupted government business and led to some evacuations of the state capital, but no explosives were found and federal officials quickly dismissed the threats as a hoax. The threats follow

a wave of false reports of shootings at the homes of government officials in recent days.

Connecticut, Georgia,

Hawaii,

Kentucky,

Maine,

Michigan,

Minnesota,

Mississippi and Montana were among the states evacuated

state buildings or buildings

.

Lawmakers in Kentucky and Mississippi have begun meetings for their 2024 legislative sessions. The FBI said it was aware of numerous hoax bomb threats at state capitol buildings but had no information indicating a specific and credible threat. The agency said it was working with state, local and federal law enforcement to gather information, share it and take action. The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously because they endanger innocent people, a statement said.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Capitol was being evacuated while state police investigated a threat received by the secretary of state.

Lawmakers were elsewhere for ethics training, but Secretary of State spokesman Michon Lindstrom said some candidate registrations were disrupted. The mass email warned of multiple explosive devices set to go off within a few hours.

Public safety officials locked down the Mississippi Capitol on Wednesday morning after a bomb threat on the second day of the legislative session. The Senate postponed its morning meeting.

The building was evacuated and bomb-sniffing dogs circled before the all-clear was given. Bailey Martin, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said the Capitol was evacuated and searched, but nothing was found.

“This is an ongoing investigation and there is no further threat to the Capitol or surrounding buildings,” said Bailey Martin, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

The closures were short-lived in most states and disruptions were minimal. Montana’s Capitol building reopened within two hours after an inspection of the building was completed and the threat was found not to be credible, said Megan Grotzke, spokesperson for the Department of Administration. In Minnesota, oral arguments at the state Supreme Court at the Capitol were paused but moved to other courtrooms at the Minnesota Judicial Center, said Kyle Christopherson, a spokesman for the Minnesota Judicial Branch. Other states, including Wyoming, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri and Maryland, received threats but did not close their capitals. Several government officials have been hit with swatting calls in recent days. Swatting is a joke to the emergency services, intended to induce a response from the police. Republican US Representative.

Marjorie Taylor Greene

of Georgia was the target of a false emergency call on Christmas morning. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was hit with a blow a day after she removed former President Trump from the state’s primary under the Constitution’s insurrection clause, a decision Trump is appealing. Other administration officials targeted in recent days include Republican U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams (RN.Y.), U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Ohio Atty. General Dave Yost. Hundreds of swatting cases occur every year. AP reporters Michael Goldberg, Emily Wagster Pettus, Lindsey Whitehurst, Amy Beth Hanson, Trisha Ahmed, Dylan Lovan and Bruce Schreiner contributed to this report.