Published: Oct 03, 2011

Capitol police not laughing at The Onion

Satirical newspaper The Onion tweeted that members of Congress took a group of schoolchildren hostage, spurred outrage from Capitol Police just a day after the FBI arrested a Massachusetts man accused of planning to bomb Washington, D.C., sites with a model plane strapped with explosives. The police are investigating the source of the newspaper's "reporting."

"It has come to our attention that recent twitter feeds are reporting false information concerning current conditions at the U.S. Capitol," Capitol Police spokeswoman Sergeant Kimberly Schneider said in a statement.

The tweets talked of the hostage situation by members of Congress that were "brandishing shotguns and semiautomatic pistols" in holding hostages and demanding $12 trillion in cash. "BREAKING: Witnesses reporting screams and gunfire inside Capitol building," one tweet read.

Later tweets had Representative Trent Franks trying to take down a rescue helicopter with a shotgun and President Obama talking with Congress while wearing a bullet-proof vest.

The Onion is known for its off-kilter brand of humor, with recent headlines reading "Panicked ER Doctor Calls 911" and "Historians Politely Remind Nation to Check What's Happened in Past Before Making Any Big Decisions."