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 An internal review of the United States Secret Service will
examine how Omar Gonzalez, 42, made it into the White House before
being stopped, his previous interactions with the Secret Service,
and what must be done to prevent future security breaches.
The Secret Service is charged with safeguarding the leaders of the
United States and visiting heads of state and government, and with
protecting the country's economy by watching over its financial
infrastructure and payment systems.
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, who ordered the review, has
been asked to testify about Friday's security breach before a House
of Representatives' oversight committee hearing scheduled for Sept.
30.
The agency is considering ways to expand the security zone around
the White House to keep the public farther away and to do more
screening of people in the area.
Friday's incident is the latest in a string of lapses involving the
Secret Service, including a prostitution scandal in 2012.
"These significant security breaches reveal our weaknesses as well
as our response capabilities to our nation’s enemies," Darrell Issa,
the Republican chairman of the committee, said in a statement.
Obama and his family had left the White House for a weekend at Camp
David when Gonzalez climbed the fence and ran across the north lawn
of the complex in full view of tourists on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Asked on Monday whether he has confidence in the agency, President
Barack Obama said, "Secret Service does a great job, and I'm
grateful for the sacrifices they make on my behalf and my family’s
behalf."
A MAP TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Gonzalez, who retired from the Army on disability in 2012, had been
living in Texas.
In July, he was arrested by Virginia State Police for reckless
driving, eluding police and possessing a sawed-off shotgun. Police
inventoried 11 guns in the vehicle including shotguns, handguns, and
sniper rifles, and a map of Washington, DC, police records showed.
Gonzalez was released on bond after the arrest.
On the map, which was tucked into a Bible, the White House and the
Masonic Temple in Alexandria, Virginia, were circled, federal
prosecutor David Mudd told a federal judge on Monday.
In August, he was stopped, but not arrested, while walking along the
south fence of the White House with a hatchet in his waistband.
After being apprehended on Friday, Gonzalez told a Secret Service
agent "he was concerned that the atmosphere was collapsing" and
needed to get the information to the president, according to court
documents.
Gonzalez faces charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building
or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. He was
carrying a knife when he entered the White House. The charge carries
up to 10 years in prison.
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After his arrest, officers found more than 800 rounds of ammunition,
two hatchets and a machete in his car, Mudd told the judge. Mudd
said Gonzalez's "preoccupation with the White House and accumulation
of large amounts of ammunition in apparently a short period of time
renders him a danger to the president," and argued against Gonzalez
being released on bond. Gonzalez was still in custody on Monday.
Deliberations in Gonzalez's case will continue in D.C. District
court on October 1.
COMPLICATED BUSINESS
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who oversees the
Secret Service, said in a statement that Americans should "not rush
to judgment about the event and not second-guess the judgment of
security officers who had only seconds to act."
Securing the White House is "complicated business," White House
spokesman Josh Earnest said. Apart from being home to the president
and his family, the building is a popular tourist destination and an
office building.
Protests are often held at Lafayette Park, across from the White
House.
Denis McDonough, Obama's chief of staff, and other White House
officials met with the Secret Service on Monday, and Obama was
briefed several times during the weekend, Earnest said.
"The president is going to leave it up to the professionals, the
United States Secret Service, to determine the security posture that
is necessary to both protect the first family that lives here, but
also to ensure the White House remains the people's house," Earnest
said.
The Secret Service has increased foot patrols and added
surveillance, and it is also locking the front door to the White
House when it is not being used by tour groups or events.
(Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha, Julia Edwards, Steve Holland,
Roberta Rampton and Susan Heavey; Editing by Jim Loney, Doina
Chiacu, Andrew Hay, Toni Reinhold)
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