White House intruder caught

Man had letter for Trump

POTOMAC FALLS, Va. - President Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. Secret Service did a “fantastic job” apprehending a “troubled person” who got onto the White House grounds after climbing a fence on the east side of the property while Trump was in the executive mansion.

It was the first known security breach at the White House since Trump took office nearly two months ago.

Washington, D.C., police identified the intruder as 26-year-old Jonathan Tran of Milpitas, Calif.

When approached by a Secret Service officer on the south grounds about 11:38 p.m. Friday and asked whether he had a pass authorizing him to be in the restricted area, Tran replied, “No, I am a friend of the president. I have an appointment,” the police report said. Asked how he got there, he said he “jumped the fence.”

The Secret Service said in a statement that the individual, whom it did not identify, was arrested on the south grounds without further incident after climbing an outer perimeter fence near the Treasury Department and E. Executive Ave.

Authorities found two cans of Mace on Tran, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Tran was also carrying a U.S. passport, an Apple laptop computer, a book written by Trump and a letter he had written to the president, the complaint said.

In the letter found on Tran, he mentioned “Russian hackers” and said he had information of relevance, according to the criminal complaint. He alleged that he had been followed, that his phone and email communications had been read by third parties, and that he has been called schizophrenic.

“Secret Service did a fantastic job last night,” Trump said Saturday from his golf club in northern Virginia. Trump described the intruder as a “troubled person” and “very sad.”