Yet another man tried to gain access to the White House Saturday, jumping a Bike Rack in an attempt to get in. While this briefly put the Secret Service into escalated security mode, the man was arrested within a couple of minutes. This is unlike the previous incident, where reportedly the intruder spent as much as 17 minutes wandering around the premises before being apprehended.
Reportedly the latest wannabe intruder – who never quite made it to the White House fence – had a document in his possession which he wanted to deliver, but no weapons on his person, according to a law enforcement statement.
Unlike last time, that letter was not, apparently, addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump, but was for somebody else on the White House premises and it is unknown at present who that person could be. The intruder is currently being questioned and reportedly a vehicle he was driving is being searched.
Intruder jumped over a bike rack outside the White House
The Secret Service said in a statement that the man jumped over a bike rack located in a buffer zone on Pennsylvania Avenue, just before 1 p.m. The statement said he was attempting to get over the White House fence. Reportedly charges against the attempted intruder are currently pending.
Donald Trump was not present at the White House at the time
Trump was reportedly not in the White House at the time of the latest attempted intrusion, as he is reportedly spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. However, as reported by Reuters, Trump’s Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, thanked the Secret Service on Twitter for their swift handling of the incident.
Individual jumped bike rack on Pennsylvania Ave, not @WhiteHouse fence. Great response by @SecretService
— Sean Spicer (@PressSec) March 18, 2017
March 11 intruder on the White House grounds had more staying power
The latest attempt – and the intruder’s quick arrest – is in stark contrast to the previous incident on March 11. On that day, a man, 26, jumped the White House fence, carrying mace and a letter addressed to Trump, and managed to stay on the grounds for anything from 15-17 minutes, depending on the media report.
At that time, Trump was present in the building.
A White House intruder roamed the grounds for 15 minutes before being arrested https://t.co/1b6rEP3oqt pic.twitter.com/0cY1CcsWs4
— Circa (@Circa) March 17, 2017
The California man, who is mentally ill according to his family, got over several fences at the White House complex and set off a number of alarms before being caught, mere steps from the entrance of the president’s home. CNN quotes House Oversight Chairman, Jason Chaffetz, as saying that the intruder got as far as the South Portico entrance, rattling the door handle in an attempt to get in. However, he did not get inside the building.
Chaffetz went on to say that billions of dollars are spent on security efforts and equipment, yet someone could get that close to the White House and manage to spend 17 minutes on site before being apprehended.
Reportedly, Chaffetz has informed the Secret Service that his committee is now investigating that incident.
According to a law enforcement source, security response went the way it should on Saturday, with the latest intruder being quickly apprehended. Meanwhile, and as reported on Blasting News, investigations continue into Friday’s theft of a laptop and other items stolen from a Secret Service Agent’s vehicle, parked outside her home in Brooklyn, New York.
