Authorities find "no viable threat" after evacuation at the Texas Capitol due to a suspicious package

A portion of the Texas Capitol was evacuated Tuesday after a state representative reported receiving a suspicious package and letter, but law enforcement officials said that "no viable threat was discovered."

State Rep. Poncho Nevárez, D-Eagle Pass, told The Texas Tribune that someone sent his office a "Russian nesting doll box arrangement with odd notecards in it." He said his name was misspelled on the package. Nevárez was not in Austin at the time the package arrived.

Officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, including bomb squad officers, responded to the scene and multiple representatives' offices were evacuated. The officers blocked off portions of long hallways in an underground extension that's largely tucked away from the rest of the building. Staffers in nearby offices continued to work, and visitors still entered the building freely.

"DPS has cleared the scene and no viable threat was discovered, and the area was reopened to the public," the agency said in a statement.

The Texas Legislature is not currently in session.