Package containing explosives found near Arizona Supreme Court
PHOENIX – The Arizona Supreme Court building near downtown Phoenix was evacuated on Jan. 5 as law enforcement agencies investigated a package that tested positive for explosives, authorities said.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms’ Phoenix branch were on scene investigating the package that contained a “suspicious substance,” the agency said in a post on X. The agency directed all further inquiries to local law enforcement.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety was contacted at 8 a.m. local time regarding the package and launched an investigation alongside local, state, and federal agencies, according to Bart Graves, a spokesperson for the department.
Graves said the package contained multiple vials — two of which tested positive for a “homemade explosive substance.” Multiple buildings in the area were evacuated, including the Arizona Supreme Court building.
The state Department of Public Safety said there was no indication of terrorism in connection with the incident, and the package will be disposed of off-site. No injuries were reported, according to the department.
The buildings remained closed into the afternoon as law enforcement conducted additional sweeps, Graves said. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
State staff allowed to work remotely for remainder of the day
The Arizona Supreme Court building was evacuated at around 10:30 a.m. local time, according to Alberto Rodriguez, communications director with the Arizona Supreme Court.
Rodriguez noted that the building has about 150 personnel, but could not provide an “accurate count of those individuals that were in the building this morning” as some may have been working remotely.
“The majority of our staff has remote access, so court operations are continual,” Rodriguez said during an update earlier on Jan. 5.
The Arizona Department of Administration advised other state agencies, which have buildings around the Capitol mall, of the situation shortly before 2 p.m. local time. The agency did not order evacuations, but said state staff could be allowed to work remotely for the remainder of the day.
Latest bomb threat incident in 2025
The incident at the Arizona Supreme Court is the latest bomb scare to occur in the Phoenix area.
Earlier in the morning on Jan. 5, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said it was investigating a potential bomb threat in a suburb of Phoenix and asked the public to avoid the area. The sheriff’s office later determined that it was a “swatting hoax call.”
The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported in August that there were two bomb scares on the same day at a military facility and a business in Phoenix. Authorities determined there were no reports of injuries or confirmed threats at those areas.
“Swatting” incidents are defined as false reports of serious crimes intended to spark a heavy law enforcement response. Such hoaxes have been plaguing the country for years, including at schools, grocery stores, office buildings, and airports — anywhere large groups of people gather.
Several bomb threats at airports and on flights, including the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the San Diego International Airport, have prompted evacuations and forced emergency landings in 2025.
In February, a Southern California teenager was sentenced for making hundreds of “swatting” calls that included shooting and bomb threats against religious institutions, schools, and individual people across the country.