Security Incidents at White House Stack Up

2 on Saturday alone, though President Trump wasn't home
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 19, 2017 6:03 AM CDT
Security Incidents at White House Stack Up
US Secret Service officers stand in the cordoned off area on Pennsylvania Avenue after a security incident near the fence of the White House in Washington, Saturday, March 18, 2017. President Trump was not at the White House at the time of the incident.    (Alex Brandon)

A man who drove to a security checkpoint near the White House in a car that was deemed suspicious has been detained by the US Secret Service, reports the AP. The car was stopped Saturday night at about 11pm about a quarter-mile from the White House. "An individual drove a vehicle up to a Secret Service checkpoint located at 15th Street and E Street NW," per a Secret Service statement. "Upon contact with the individual, U.S. Secret Service Uniform Division Officers detained the individual and declared his vehicle suspicious." The Secret Service hasn't said what caused the car to be considered suspicious, though a law enforcement source tells Fox News that the driver claimed to have an explosive device.

The service says the incident has prompted a heightened "posture of readiness." President Trump wasn't at the White House because he and his family are spending the weekend at his resort in Palm Beach, Fla. Earlier Saturday, someone jumped a low metal barrier just outside a White House fence. About a week earlier a man breached an outer perimeter fence and scaled a vehicle gate to gain entry to the White House grounds, raising questions about lapses in security under the Secret Service's watch. (More White House stories.)

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