Capitol Police stop youth choir during national anthem performance, sparking outrage: 'I was shocked'

Video footage showing a South Carolina-based children’s choir being stopped by a Capitol Police serviceman from singing the nationalist anthem successful the U.S. Capitol has gone viral with millions of views.

Capitol Police said singers with the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir from Greenville were stopped due to the fact that of a "miscommunication," which occurred May 26.

Capitol Police initially issued a connection that said they were nether the content the radical didn’t person support to execute successful the gathering but clarified aboriginal that they "were not alert that the Speaker’s Office had approved this performance."

Choir manager David Rasbach and different choir person said the sojourn was approved by the bureau of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., which the speaker's bureau confirmed.

In this representation taken from video, the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir sings the "The Star-Spangled Banner" successful the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall connected May 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Farnoush Amiri)

"I was shocked, I was dismayed, I was stunned," Rasbach, who said helium secured support from 3 legislature offices to execute astatine the U.S. Capitol, told the Daily Signal. "I couldn’t judge that was happening, that they would halt the nationalist anthem, of each songs."

Video of the lawsuit showed the children singing arsenic a Capitol Police serviceman spoke with 2 different men. One of the men, who appears to beryllium a legislature staffer, past approached Rasbach. A fewer seconds later, Rasbach motioned to the choir and chopped them disconnected to halt singing.

Capitol Police said singers with the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir from Greenville were stopped due to the fact that of a "miscommunication," which occurred May 26. (U.S. Capitol Police)

Police get by autobus astatine the U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez/File)

Some Republicans accused Capitol Police of taking enactment against the kids owed to governmental bias, but the unit said that is untrue and accused the legislature staffer of lying "to the officers aggregate times astir having support from assorted offices" successful 1 emailed connection to the Daily Signal.

"Recently idiosyncratic posted a video of a children’s choir singing the Star-Spangled Banner successful the U.S. Capitol Building and wrongfully claimed we stopped the show due to the fact that it ‘might offend someone,’" the Capitol Police said. "Here is the truth. Demonstrations and philharmonic performances are not allowed successful the U.S. Capitol."

"Of course, due to the fact that the singers successful this concern were children, our officers were tenable and allowed the children to decorativeness their beauteous rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner," the connection added. "The Congressional unit subordinate who was accompanying the radical knew the rules, yet lied to the officers aggregate times astir having support from assorted offices. The staffer enactment some the choir and our officers, who were simply doing their jobs, successful an awkward and embarrassing position."

McCarthy and 3 different Congress members progressive successful inviting the radical to the Capitol issued a associated statement, saying they were "very disappointed" that the show was chopped short.

"We precocious learned that schoolchildren from South Carolina were interrupted portion singing our National Anthem astatine the Capitol. These children were welcomed by the Speaker’s Office to joyfully explicit their emotion of this federation portion visiting the Capitol, and we are each precise disappointed to larn their solemnisation was chopped short," McCarthy and 3 House Republicans said. "We are delighted that the People’s House has been reopened peculiarly for our children and we look guardant to welcoming much Americans backmost to the halls of Congress."

Capitol Police did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital's petition for comment.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.