The White House had a slight security scare Friday evening when a man managed to hop the fence and make it inside. This would be the third such incident in the past few months, including that toddler that managed to slip through the fence. From Reuters:
Omar J. Gonzales, a 42-year-old white male from Texas, made it onto the grounds at 7:20 EDT, a U.S. Secret Service spokesman said. Gonzales ignored commands to stop and was ultimately caught, unarmed, just inside the North Portico doors of the White House, one of the building’s main entrances.
The intruder’s ability to get so far on the grounds before being apprehended is very unusual for a complex that is heavily guarded by Secret Service officers and snipers. He was arrested and taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
“The Secret Service will review the response to ensure that the proper protocol was followed,” spokesman Ed Donovan said.
Instagram user Brandon Pawlinski managed to capture the incident on camera, showing Gonzales making a mad dash towards The White House with Secret Service agents yelling in the distance:
https://instagram.com/p/tJV-qKFCnz/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=video&modal=true
That had to be quite the sight. I’d have a hard time taking orders to move back while some guy is pulling a Jim Brown on The White House lawn. I guess this how Olympus Has Fallen happened though, so one probably shouldn’t take the risk.
(Via Brandon Pawlinski / Reuters / The Guardian)