A member of the Secret Service Uniformed Division with a K-9. (Associated Press)
Washington:
Investigators found more than 800 rounds of ammunition, a machete and two hatchets in the car of the former soldier accused of scaling the White House fence and sprinting inside the building while carrying a knife, a US prosecutor said on Monday. President Barack Obama said he was "obviously concerned" about the weekend incident.
The Secret Service, which protects the president and his family, increased security around the famous grounds on Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation's capital, some guards openly holding weapons, others escorting dogs. There was talk of expanding White House security beyond the current area as a major investigation began into the question of how the man managed to get to the building without being stopped.
Forty-two-year-old Omar J. Gonzalez faces charges of entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. He had been arrested earlier in the summer in the nearby state of Virginia with a carful of weapons, authorities said, and a federal prosecutor said on Monday in court that Gonzalez had had a map with the White House circled.
Obama and his family had left the White House for Camp David when the incident occurred Friday evening. Gonzalez was seized just inside the building's front door. No guns were found in his car.
In court, Gonzalez, with a gray beard, a shaved head and dressed in a standard prison orange jumpsuit, listened impassively as the prosecutor spoke. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of illegally entering a restricted area with a dangerous weapon.
The Army said he served from 1997 until his discharge in 2003, and again from 2005 to December 2012, when he retired due to disability.
Obama, asked about the incident at the White House, said, "The Secret Service does a great job, and I'm grateful for the sacrifices that they make on my behalf -- and my family's behalf."
But spokesman Josh Earnest said the president was "obviously concerned" about what had happened.
At the federal court hearing, Assistant US Attorney David Mudd said Gonzalez already was under indictment in southwestern Virginia, accused of having a sawed-off shotgun and trying to elude police this summer.
Wythe County Deputy Commonwealth Attorney David Saliba said by telephone that Gonzales also had two powerful rifles, four handguns and other guns and ammunition in his Ford Bronco when troopers stopped him on July 19. The weapons and ammunition were seized, but Gonzalez was released on bail.
Earnest said the Secret Service investigation will include a review of protective efforts both inside the White House grounds and outside the fence line along Pennsylvania Avenue, including staffing and threat assessment policies and procedures.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced it would hold a hearing next week.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he would ultimately review the findings of the investigation ordered by Secret Service Director Julia Pierson. Johnson said the public should not rush to judgment about the security breach and urged against second-guessing security officers whom he said "had only seconds to act."
The Secret Service didn't open fire on Gonzalez or send attack dogs after him.
Officers who spotted Gonzalez scale the fence quickly assessed that he didn't have any weapons in his hands and wasn't wearing clothing that could conceal substantial quantities of explosives, a primary reason agents did not fire their weapons, according to a US official briefed on the investigation.
Another consideration was whether bystanders behind the fence could have been injured by errant gunfire, said the official, who was not authorised to discuss the investigation by name and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
The Secret Service has long tried to balance public access to the "People's House" and security of the presidential residence.
The two-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House's north gates has been closed to vehicle traffic since May 1995, when President Bill Clinton ordered the immediate closure of the road in an effort to prevent a potential car- or truck-bomb attack.
On any given day, numerous uniformed officers can be seen patrolling parts of the sprawling lawns on either side of the White House, and others are stationed along the fence line on Pennsylvania Avenue. Many more were in view on Monday.
But the pedestrian-only zone hasn't entirely prevented security breaches along the fence.
Last September a man was arrested and accused of throwing firecrackers over the fence on the north lawn, near the area where Gonzalez is accused of climbing over the barrier. The Secret Service at the time said the man with firecrackers did not pose a threat.
A few weeks later a Connecticut woman set off a police chase through downtown Washington after ramming a security checkpoint near the White House. Miriam Carey, 34, was shot and killed by police near the Capitol.
The Secret Service, which protects the president and his family, increased security around the famous grounds on Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation's capital, some guards openly holding weapons, others escorting dogs. There was talk of expanding White House security beyond the current area as a major investigation began into the question of how the man managed to get to the building without being stopped.
Forty-two-year-old Omar J. Gonzalez faces charges of entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. He had been arrested earlier in the summer in the nearby state of Virginia with a carful of weapons, authorities said, and a federal prosecutor said on Monday in court that Gonzalez had had a map with the White House circled.
Obama and his family had left the White House for Camp David when the incident occurred Friday evening. Gonzalez was seized just inside the building's front door. No guns were found in his car.
In court, Gonzalez, with a gray beard, a shaved head and dressed in a standard prison orange jumpsuit, listened impassively as the prosecutor spoke. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of illegally entering a restricted area with a dangerous weapon.
The Army said he served from 1997 until his discharge in 2003, and again from 2005 to December 2012, when he retired due to disability.
Obama, asked about the incident at the White House, said, "The Secret Service does a great job, and I'm grateful for the sacrifices that they make on my behalf -- and my family's behalf."
But spokesman Josh Earnest said the president was "obviously concerned" about what had happened.
At the federal court hearing, Assistant US Attorney David Mudd said Gonzalez already was under indictment in southwestern Virginia, accused of having a sawed-off shotgun and trying to elude police this summer.
Wythe County Deputy Commonwealth Attorney David Saliba said by telephone that Gonzales also had two powerful rifles, four handguns and other guns and ammunition in his Ford Bronco when troopers stopped him on July 19. The weapons and ammunition were seized, but Gonzalez was released on bail.
Earnest said the Secret Service investigation will include a review of protective efforts both inside the White House grounds and outside the fence line along Pennsylvania Avenue, including staffing and threat assessment policies and procedures.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced it would hold a hearing next week.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he would ultimately review the findings of the investigation ordered by Secret Service Director Julia Pierson. Johnson said the public should not rush to judgment about the security breach and urged against second-guessing security officers whom he said "had only seconds to act."
The Secret Service didn't open fire on Gonzalez or send attack dogs after him.
Officers who spotted Gonzalez scale the fence quickly assessed that he didn't have any weapons in his hands and wasn't wearing clothing that could conceal substantial quantities of explosives, a primary reason agents did not fire their weapons, according to a US official briefed on the investigation.
Another consideration was whether bystanders behind the fence could have been injured by errant gunfire, said the official, who was not authorised to discuss the investigation by name and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
The Secret Service has long tried to balance public access to the "People's House" and security of the presidential residence.
The two-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House's north gates has been closed to vehicle traffic since May 1995, when President Bill Clinton ordered the immediate closure of the road in an effort to prevent a potential car- or truck-bomb attack.
On any given day, numerous uniformed officers can be seen patrolling parts of the sprawling lawns on either side of the White House, and others are stationed along the fence line on Pennsylvania Avenue. Many more were in view on Monday.
But the pedestrian-only zone hasn't entirely prevented security breaches along the fence.
Last September a man was arrested and accused of throwing firecrackers over the fence on the north lawn, near the area where Gonzalez is accused of climbing over the barrier. The Secret Service at the time said the man with firecrackers did not pose a threat.
A few weeks later a Connecticut woman set off a police chase through downtown Washington after ramming a security checkpoint near the White House. Miriam Carey, 34, was shot and killed by police near the Capitol.
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