The 9/11 Memorial temporarily issued an evacuation order earlier this week after a Japanese man left a white powder — later discovered to be salt — on the plaza, police said Friday.
The order was issued at around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, a police official said. The man's name was not released.
The man was quoted as saying he intended to commemorate the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Salt is used in some Shinto rituals and in ceremonies in other religions.
The museum at the site was not evacuated before the alert was lifted about 30 minutes later. The man was not detained.
