A woman was caught trying to enter the White House by jumping over a bike rack and then scaling the fence in broad daylight. The unidentified intruder was apprehended by the Secret Service before she could jump over the fence and has been taken into custody.
The White House intruders
Boston Globe reports that President Donald Trump was present in the White House when the incident happened and the West Wing was occupied with the staff. Subsequent to the incident, the security officers shift out members of the news media who were in the vicinity.
There were a number of attempts in the past of people trying to gain entry into the White House where the president stays and the intruders have invariably been caught.
The Secret Service maintains surveillance over the grounds and those who try to sneak in are caught and face criminal charges but, in spite of knowing that they can get caught, they keep trying.
In March last, a man from California man did manage to cross a number of barriers and remain on the White House grounds for quite a while before he was caught. That incident is still under investigation and action has been taken against Secret Service officers who were on duty at the time. In addition, suitable preventive actions have been taken to restrict public access at selected locations. Incidentally, fence jumpers seldom make their attempts during the day and this attempt by a woman appears to be an exception.
Why do people try to enter such places?
The White House is the place where the president of the United States stays and there are some people who want to see and feel it from close quarters. There could be various reasons for this and it is natural to jump to a conclusion that such an intruder must be having a secret agenda to harm the occupants of the White House.
Secret Service personnel who provide round-the-clock surveillance of the setup are geared to handle such situations and take immediate action to tackle the intruder.
Instances of such intrusions have been there in the past and existing safety measures are being regularly upgraded based on fresh experiences. Extending security coverage to the White House is a massive operation which is continuously undergoing modifications based on fresh inputs.
Of course, all intruders may not have sinister agendas and might undertake such fence jumping just for the thrill of it. Or - as an adventure to boast about to friends in the social circuits. Whatever be the reason, the Secret Service must never relax their guard because they are entrusted with the security of the President of the United States.
