The Secret Service has ramped up security measures after a man with a knife darted into the White House, minutes after President Obama left the executive mansion.
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson on Saturday ordered heightened surveillance along the North Fence of the building, which Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, jumped Friday evening before he was nabbed by Secret Service as he raced across the lawn and entered the residence.
The agency’s spokesperson Edwin Donovan said the security breach was “not acceptable and will be closely reviewed.”
The incident, which led to a rare evacuation, has sparked fresh concerns about the Secret Service’s ability to protect the president.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security, fears the Secret Service needs a leadership overhaul.
“White House fence jumper reportedly made it INTO the White House. Was the door open? Seriously. It was open?,” he tweeted.
Gonzalez made it over the fence shortly before Obama and his daughters boarded a helicopter on the South Lawn to Camp David for the weekend. The White House grounds were briefly evacuated.
Gonzalez was charged with unlawful entry into the White House complex and complained of chest pains after his arrest. He was taken Friday to George Washington University Hospital in the District, where he remained Saturday morning.
The incident comes a week after the Secret Service apprehended a man who jumped over the North Fence of the White House, on the thirteenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
This post was originally posted at 8:32 pm on Sept. 19 and updated on Sept. 20 at 9:39 p.m.