State Department officials forced their way into the Russian Consulate residence in Seattle on Wednesday morning.
According to officials, they were conducting a walk-through to confirm that the residence was vacated at midnight, per President Trump's order.
State Department officials also said the property was no longer authorized for use for any diplomatic or consular purposes, and no longer enjoys any privileges or immunities.
The official twitter account for the Russian Embassy tweeted video saying, “US special services are trying to enter Russian diplomatic property in Seattle.”
Nikolai Pukalov, head of the consular section of the Russian embassy in Washington D.C., said state department officials began removing the lock on the front gate at 9 a.m. and entered the property about 20 minutes later.
"This is a gross violation of the Vienna Convention of diplomatic and consular relations, as well as domestic law, because this is the Russian state property, and the Russian state didn’t give any consent," Pukalov said.
Twitter video shows a blue tarp being held in front of the gate to the house in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
More video tweeted by the embassy shows what appears to be U.S. officials standing on the front porch.
Employees who worked for the Russian consulate in Seattle left for D.C. Tuesday morning, according to Pukalov.
In the alley behind the 12,000 square foot home, bags of shredded documents and discarded groceries sat beside the recycling bins and waste containers.
"I would love to see the inside of that house," said Lucy Ray, who has lived across the street for the last seven years.
Neighbors say Russian diplomats have lived here since the mid-1990's when they purchased the home.
