On Friday night, a man hopped the White House fence, sprinted across the green and got in through the north doors before he was arrested by Secret Service. President Barack Obama had left for Camp David just minutes before, according to The Washington Post. Following the intrusion, staffers and journalists inside the White House were temporarily evacuated from the premesis.
The man was identified as Omar J. Gonzalez. Officials aren't sure what prompted the 42-year-old Copperas Cove, TX resident to break in through the north fence, but Gonzalez has been sent to the hospital for a medical evaluation following complaints of chest pain. He has been charged with unlawful entry into the President's home. Obama departed for Camp David with his daughters and a family friend roughly around 7:05 p.m., according to the White House schedule. Gonzalez reportedly climbed the fence at 7:20 p.m. on Friday night.
Secret Service initially thought Gonzalez was unarmed, but after a search they found he had been wielding a knife.
Philipos Melaku-Bello, a witness attending a nearby peace vigil, told The Washington Post that Gonzalez "got a good run in" after he hopped the fence, "pretty much landed on his feet and started sprinting." Officers on the roof shouted at the man to stop, but he wasn't caught until he had made it through the North Portico doors. Few White House intruders have made it further than the fence, and no one has ever made it this far into the complex before being caught before.
Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security Rep. Jason Chaffetz told ABC News that the intrusion was one of several recent security shortcomings by the Secret Service. He said it was "totally unacceptable" that Gonzalez had made it through the doors.
"There are good men and women, but the Secret Service leadership has a lot of questions to answer," Chaffetz said. He confirmed that the security team was currently under review.
A man clad in a Pokemon outfit scaled the same portion of the fence last week on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. He was caught by Secret Service agents on the White House lawn.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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