Not so jolly package causes TN Capitol evacuation

[November 30, 2009]  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A package for Tennessee's governor turned out not too jolly for staffers at the Capitol.

Safety Department spokesman Mike Browning says officials evacuated the building for almost two hours Wednesday when the mail room found a package addressed to Gov. Phil Bredesen that contained moving parts.

Turned out it was a mechanical Santa Claus.

The department's bomb squad and agents from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were called. The package was destroyed, revealing the Santa from a company in Georgia.

The governor was not in the building at the time.

[Associated Press]

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