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September 22, 2014

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Intruder triggers security review at White House

A MAN who jumped over a White House fence and entered the presidential mansion was carrying a folding knife and claimed to be an Iraq war veteran, sparking a security review.

The White House ­— the United States president’s workplace and home — is generally regarded as one of the most secure and protected places on the planet.

All the more troubling, Secret Service officials said, that the fence jumper, identified as 42-year-old Omar Gonzalez, had entered the building unimpeded late on Friday after sprinting across the North Lawn.

President Barack Obama and his family were not home at the time, though officials and journalists were rushed out of the building during the evening disturbance.

“I ran toward Omar Gonzalez and yelled at him to stop. Instead, Gonzalez ran toward the White House,” a Security Service agent said in an affidavit.

Gonzalez, of Copperas Cove, Texas, was caught just after entering through the North Portico doors of the White House.

Agents found a Spyderco VG-10 black folding knife with a 8.90-centimeter serrated blade in his right front pants pocket, according to the affidavit.

During an initial appearance in US District Court in Washington on Saturday, he was charged with unlawful entry while in possession of a deadly or dangerous weapon. He faces up to 10 years behind bars.

Security Service agent

After his arrest, Gonzalez told a Security Service agent that “he was concerned that the atmosphere was collapsing and needed to get the information to the President of the United States so that he could get the word out to the people,” according to the affidavit.

The document also said that Gonzalez claimed he had served three tours of duty in Iraq.

“Although last night the officers showed tremendous restraint and discipline in dealing with this subject, the location of Gonzalez’s arrest is not acceptable,” the Secret Service said.

An agency within the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service is tasked with protecting America’s highest elected officials and visiting foreign officials, and securing events of national significance.

The investigation was ordered by Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, whose office said that the review’s findings would be submitted to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

The announcement of the internal probe coincided with the second security incident in as many days at the White House, where a man was arrested and charged with trespassing.

Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said that Kevin Carr of Shamong, New Jersey, had turned up in his car a short time after being denied entrance at a pedestrian access point.

Officials said this breach was a relatively minor affair compared to the fence-jumper the day before.




 

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