Obama expresses confidence in Secret Service
Source: David Jackson
President Obama is expressing support for the Secret Service, but also backing an investigation into how a man with a knife managed to make it inside the front door of the Secret Service -- an unprecedented breach of security at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The incident took place Friday evening, some 10 minutes after Obama and his family left the residence for a weekend at Camp David.
"The President has full confidence in the Secret Service and is grateful to the men and women who day in and day out protect himself, his family and the White House," said White House spokesman Frank Benenati.
The intrusion prompted the Secret Service to evacuate the West Wing.
Benenati noted that the Secret Service is investigating the incident, and "we are certain it will be done with the same professionalism and commitment to duty that we and the American people expect from the US Secret Service."
Fence jumpers at the White House are not unusual, but no one can remember an illegal entrant getting so far inside the complex.
On Saturday, a man was taken into custody for driving up to a gate at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, and refusing to leave. Earlier, the man had tried to enter the White House grounds through a gate on site, and was turned away.
There is no sign that the Friday and Saturday incidents are related.
On Friday, Omar Gonzalez, 42, of Copperas Cove, Texas, managed to jump the fence on Pennsylvania Avenue and sprint some 70 yards to the White House itself before being subdued. He has been charged with unlawful entry into restricted grounds while carrying a deadly weapon.
Secret Service members did not open fire on the intruder, nor did they release guard dogs.
In a statement announcing the investigation, the Secret Service said that while "the officers showed tremendous restraint and discipline in dealing with this subject, the location of Gonzalez's arrest is not acceptable."
The incident took place amid heightened security at the presidential residence. A video released by the Islamic State jihadist group appeared to direct a threat at the White House.
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson ordered an investigation by the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility.
"In the interim," the Secret Service said, "Director Pierson has ordered the immediate enhancement of officer patrols and surveillance capabilities along the Pennsylvania Avenue fence line around the White House complex."
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