Intruder Makes It Over the Fence and Through the White House Doors
Tourists and peace protesters barnacled outside the White House on Friday evening caught quite a show when a Texas man scaled the White House fence, raced across the lawn, and through the north portico doors before being nabbed by Secret Service agents.
No shots were fired and the White House guard dogs were not sicced. President Barack Obama and his daughters had taken off for Camp David moments earlier, but White House staff members were evacuated as precaution.
While fence-jumpers (or aimless babies, should the case be) are not unheard-of, it's rare for an intruder to clear the security-swaddled North Lawn, let alone into the (apparently unlocked?) White House, before being stopped. A Secret Security official tells the Washington Post that the close call "was not acceptable," and that the incident was being reviewed by the agency.
The man, identified as 42-year old Omar J. Gonzalez and plainly unarmed, has been charged with unlawful entry into the White House complex. It is still unclear why he did this, but you can watch his epic run below.
[Image via AP]