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Secret Service officers responded to the incident on the north
side of the executive mansion, extinguished the fire and
provided first aid, the agency said on Twitter.
Daniel Kingery, a 57-year-old voter rights activist, said the
man was holding up his burning jacket and recording the
incident, which appeared to be a demonstration.
"He wasn't obeying their order to put it down, so it was
definitely some sort of a protest," Kingery said. The Secret
Service put out the fire, knocked him out of the scooter, and
dragged him to a statue in nearby Lafayette Square where other
officials were waiting, he added.
The Secret Service closed Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the
White House to pedestrian traffic, and a nearby block of 17th
Street was closed as well. At least portions of the White House
complex were locked down.
News video showed emergency medical personnel arriving to tend
to a person who police had surrounded on the ground.
A CNN reporter on Twitter cited a Secret Service spokeswoman as
saying there was no threat to U.S. President Donald Trump. The
incident occurred shortly after Trump spoke at the White House
about the nation's 5G network.
(Reporting by Eric Beech, David Alexander and Alexandra Alper;
Editing by Tim Ahmann and Meredith Mazzilli)
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