Man Arrested for Attempting to Climb White House Barrier

The US Secret Service reports that the man was arrested for trying to climb over an auxiliary barrier which had been placed in front of the main fence.

MOSCOW, February 2 (Sputnik) – A man was taken into custody on Sunday after trying to scale a security barrier in front of the main fence of the White House, the US Secret Service has told the Washington Post.

"The man tried to climb the temporary barrier about 2:15 p.m. on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the grounds," Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary told the newspaper, explaining that he was then "taken into custody by uniformed officers of the Secret Service and charged with unlawful entry," before being handed over to Washington D.C. Police.

The spokesman did not give any further information about the suspect, nor his motivation for trying to climb the barrier.

The barrier in question was put in place after an incident in September 2014, when an ex-serviceman named Omar Gonzales managed to scale the fence and get into the White House, making it as far the East Room before being apprehended. The episode led to an inquiry which also detailed other security lapses by the Secret Service, and resulted in the resignation of the organization's Director Julia Pierson.

The Post reported in September that the interlocking metal barriers, which are each around four feet [1.2 meters] high and eight feet [2.4 meters] long, had been put in place temporarily to create an additional five foot [1.5 meters] buffer zone between the public and the White House fence while the Secret Service reviewed its security measures.