White House Security Breach Sparks Panic
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secret Service is boosting security outside the White House following an embarrassing security breach in which an intruder with a knife scaled the White House fence, dashed across the lawn and made it all the way inside before agents managed to stop him.
Increased surveillance and more officer patrols are among the measures that Secret Service Director Julia Pierson has ordered as the elite agency strives to ensure such an incident can’t happen again. Pierson has also launched a full investigation into what went wrong.
Word that a fence-jumper managed to get inside the White House drew reactions of alarm and disbelief about how one of the most heavily secured buildings in the world had been compromised. With questions mounting, President Barack Obama sought to allay concerns about whether the Secret Service is still up to the task of protecting him and his family.
Obama and his daughters had just left the White House by helicopter on Friday evening when the Secret Service says 42-year-old Omar J. Gonzalez hopped over the fence. He ran toward the presidential residence unimpeded, ignoring orders from officers to stop, until being tackled just inside the doors of the North Portico — the grand, columned entrance overlooking Pennsylvania Ave.
Officials initially said the fact that Gonzalez appeared to be unarmed may have been a factor in why agents at the scene didn’t shoot Gonzalez or sic their dogs on him before he made it inside. But a criminal complaint revealed Gonzalez had a small folding knife with a 3 ½-inch serrated blade with him at the time of his arrest.
The Secret Service said its Office of Professional Responsibility was carrying out the review, which began with interviews and a physical site assessment and will include a review of all of security and operational policies.
But those assurances were unlikely to satisfy the concerns of those who said the stunning breach marked just the latest in a string of mishaps on the Secret Service’s watch.
"Unfortunately, they are failing to do their job,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. "These are good men and women, but the Secret Service leadership has a lot of questions to answer.”
According to a criminal complaint, Gonzalez told Secret Service agents after the arrest that he was "concerned that the atmosphere was collapsing” and needed to contact the president "so he could get word out to the people”.
The breach triggered a rare evacuation of much of the White House. Secret Service agents drew their weapons as they hurried White House staffers and journalists out of the West Wing through a side door.
Word that a fence-jumper managed to get inside the White House drew reactions of alarm and disbelief about how one of the most heavily secured buildings in the world had been compromised. With questions mounting, President Barack Obama sought to allay concerns about whether the Secret Service is still up to the task of protecting him and his family.
Obama and his daughters had just left the White House by helicopter on Friday evening when the Secret Service says 42-year-old Omar J. Gonzalez hopped over the fence. He ran toward the presidential residence unimpeded, ignoring orders from officers to stop, until being tackled just inside the doors of the North Portico — the grand, columned entrance overlooking Pennsylvania Ave.
Officials initially said the fact that Gonzalez appeared to be unarmed may have been a factor in why agents at the scene didn’t shoot Gonzalez or sic their dogs on him before he made it inside. But a criminal complaint revealed Gonzalez had a small folding knife with a 3 ½-inch serrated blade with him at the time of his arrest.
The Secret Service said its Office of Professional Responsibility was carrying out the review, which began with interviews and a physical site assessment and will include a review of all of security and operational policies.
But those assurances were unlikely to satisfy the concerns of those who said the stunning breach marked just the latest in a string of mishaps on the Secret Service’s watch.
"Unfortunately, they are failing to do their job,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. "These are good men and women, but the Secret Service leadership has a lot of questions to answer.”
According to a criminal complaint, Gonzalez told Secret Service agents after the arrest that he was "concerned that the atmosphere was collapsing” and needed to contact the president "so he could get word out to the people”.
The breach triggered a rare evacuation of much of the White House. Secret Service agents drew their weapons as they hurried White House staffers and journalists out of the West Wing through a side door.