2nd White House intrusion try reported; security questioned
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The White House said Saturday that an individual was apprehended after jumping a low metal barrier just outside the White House fence, a week after an intrusion raised questions about lapses in security under the watch of the U.S. Secret Service.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer wrote on Twitter that the individual “jumped bike rack on Pennsylvania Ave” but did not make it onto White House property.
President Donald Trump and his family are spending the weekend at his Palm Beach, Fla., resort.
The Secret Service did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The incident comes about a week after a man breached a 5-foot outer fence and scaled an 8-foot vehicle gate to gain entry to the White House grounds.
Video surveillance footage shows Jonathan Tuan Tran, 26, of Milpitas, Calif., climbing the fence adjacent to the Treasury Department and making his way to a south entrance, the criminal complaint said. Tran, whom the Secret Service said had two cans of Mace, is charged with entering restricted grounds while carrying a dangerous weapon. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
Trump was inside the executive mansion at the time. He praised the Secret Service for doing a “fantastic job” apprehending a “troubled person.”
Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told CNN on Friday that Tran was able to “look through” a White House window and roam the grounds undetected for 17 minutes while Trump was inside. Chaffetz called the incident a “complete and utter total failure.”
The Secret Service said it was still investigating and had put additional security posts, technology enhancements and new response protocols into place.