Prosecutors: White House fence jumper had 800 rounds of ammo in car

The man who jumped the White House fence and made it through the front door before being stopped had 800 rounds of ammunition in his car, federal prosecutors said on Monday.

Omar Gonzalez, 42, also had two hatchets and a machete in his car, parked blocks away, prosecutors said in federal court, according to The Washington Post.

{mosads}The embarrassing breach has put the Secret Service under scrutiny and raised new questions about security protocols. The suspect had crossed paths before with law enforcement.

In July, Gonzalez, originally from Texas, was arrested for carrying a sawed-off shotgun and a map with the White House circled on it, according to prosecutors.

The Post also reported that the Secret Service spoke with Gonzalez in August when they saw him with a hatchet in his pants near the White House, searched his car, but found nothing suspicious and released him.

According to an affidavit, Gonzalez told the Secret Service after being caught jumping the fence on Friday that the “atmosphere was collapsing” and he needed to tell the president. The affidavit said Gonzalez had a folding knife with a three-and-a-half-inch blade in his pants pocket.

The Secret Service is conducting a review of its security procedures and weighing extending the safety perimeter around the White House.

Gonzalez is charged with unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds with a “deadly or dangerous weapon.” The charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years.

The agency has a policy of not shooting fence jumpers if they do not appear to be armed.

Prosecutors on Monday successfully argued that Gonzalez should not be released on bond.

His “preoccupation with the White House and accumulation of large amounts of ammunition in apparently a short period of time renders him a danger to the president,” argued Assistant U.S. Attorney David Mudd, according to Reuters.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that Obama was “obviously concerned” but added that he had “full confidence” in the Secret Service.

“The Secret Service does a great job,” President Obama said at an event at the White House on Monday, according to a pool report. “I’m grateful for all the sacrifices they make on my behalf and on my family’s behalf.”

Gonzalez’s lawyers say he has no convictions and served 18 years, including three tours in Iraq, in the U.S. military, according to the Post.

They have not invoked his mental competency as a defense.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced on Monday that it will hold a hearing on the Secret Service next Tuesday, and has invited Director Julia Pierson to testify.

Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) also raised Secret Service scandals involving agents bringing prostitutes back to their hotel in Cartagena, Colombia, and a couple, the Salahis, gaining entrance to a White House state dinner in 2009 even though they were not invited.

“The recent intrusion of an individual into the White House is the latest in a string of high profile incidents for the Secret Service,” Issa said in a statement. “These significant security breaches reveal our weaknesses as well as our response capabilities to our nation’s enemies.

“I look forward to hearing from Secret Service Director Pierson, in light of scandals ranging from the Salahis to Cartagena, about what steps the agency is taking under her leadership to improve security and put an end to dangerous embarrassments.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the Oversight Committee, agreed that the issue is concerning and requires a hearing.

“It is extremely upsetting to me, and it should be upsetting to every American,” Cummings said on MSNBC on Monday. “This is a national security issue. I hate to even imagine somebody getting close to the White House.

Reps. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) have also been critical of the agency following the security breach.

“The fact that he wasn’t brought down because they say they didn’t think he had a weapon? He could have had a body bomb; he could have had a vest on,” King said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“As we know, he had a knife, so this demands a full investigation as to what happened, why it happened, and what’s being done to make sure it never happens again.”

Chaffetz said the incident raised “huge” questions about Secret Service leadership.

Former White House senior adviser David Axelrod Monday joined the criticism and called for a thorough investigation. He said it was “unfathomable” that an intruder was able to get so far.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he is awaiting the results of the agency’s investigation but also offered a defense.

“In the meantime, I encourage all of us to not rush to judgment about the event and not second-guess the judgment of security officers who had only seconds to act, until all the facts are in,” Johnson said in a statement.

“It is important to remember that the U.S. Secret Service remains one of the best, if not the best, protection services in the world.”

This story was updated at 6:07 p.m.