Watch: People panic after spotting mysterious lights from 'UFO' over Capitol Hill

As mysterious lights appeared hovering above Capitol Hill, people panicked and wondered if extraterrestrials were planning any coup on Earth.

In the viral snapshots shared on social media, four eerie bright lights were seen present in the sky several feet above the Statue of Freedom at the top of the Capitol dome. 

The snapshots were taken by US Air Force veteran and licensed tour guide Dennis Diggins, as per media reports.

In another video, which was taken from a distance, the same four twinkling lights which were present in a single line above the government building, further confirmed the sighting.

Also Read: Three-word message about nukes aliens are sending us, as per an ex-US army official

Here's how people reacted to the 'UFO' sighting

The images and videos soon sparked panic among people on social media and the sighting came weeks after a hearing was held by the Congress about alleged secret government programmes which had described “alien” spacecraft.

“It is already happening,” said one user. “This is insane!” commented another.

Amid the panic, others tried to debunk the purported UFO sighting as one expert theorised that the phenomenon was just the reflections in the night sky.

Watch: Pentagon's Annual UFO Report Finds 21 Cases Of Sightings Need More Analysis

“The lights at the U.S. Capitol building have been causing ‘UFO sightings’ in the camera lens for decades & decades,” said John Greenewald, Jr., a researcher and Ufologist on X.

“(Just lens flares, but interesting someone is passing them around, again, and more so interesting people are buying it. New photo, same lens flare ‘phenomenon’.)," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)