White House Intruder had Huge Ammo Stash in Car
A homeless man who triggered a security alert when he jumped the White House fence and ran into the building with a knife had 800 rounds of ammunition in his car, a court heard Monday.
Former U.S. Army soldier Omar Gonzalez, 42, was arrested on Friday after he evaded the outer layer of security around the U.S. presidential residence and made it inside before being tackled.
"Mr Gonzales preoccupation with the White House and accumulation of a large amount of ammunition ... renders him a danger to the president," U.S. prosecutor David Mudd said.
In addition to the ammunition, found in a car parked near the White House, investigators uncovered two hatchets and a machete. Mudd made no mention of any firearms.
The prosecutor told the court that the suspect was already facing charges in the U.S. state of Virginia over an illegal sawed-off shotgun found in his vehicle.
On that occasion, Mudd said, he was also found in possession of a map with the locations of the White House and of a Masonic temple in the Washington DC suburbs circled.
The defendant was remanded in custody pending a preliminary hearing on October 1.
Described as "homeless and penniless," he was assigned a public defender who declined an opportunity to seek a psychiatric assessment of his client.
Earlier that day, President Barack Obama is "concerned" about an incident in which an intruder with a knife entered the front door of the White House, directly below the first family's living quarters, officials said.
The U.S. Secret Service is reviewing new security measures inside and outside the White House fence after the man made it all the way inside the presidential mansion on Friday before being tackled.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama had been repeatedly briefed on the massive security breach, and had expressed disquiet about the incident.
"His family lives in the White House, and so he is obviously concerned by the incident that occurred on Friday evening," Earnest said.
"At the same time, the president continues to have complete confidence in the professionals at the Secret Service."
Earnest said the probe by the elite presidential protection branch would test the feasibility of what he called the "positioning of tactical and non-tactical assets inside and outside the fence line."
The probe will also look at Secret Service staffing, procedures, and physical and technical security enhancements, he said.
The incident happened a few minutes after the president and his daughters had left the White House by helicopter on Friday for a weekend at his official retreat at Camp David in Maryland.
The drama has whipped up intense media and public interest, prompting Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to warn against jumping to premature conclusions about the drama.
"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."
The intruder, Omar Gonzalez, 42, is facing charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Texas man served two tours of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Army. His former stepson told CNN that Gonzalez suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and paranoia.
The fence-jumper caused a rare evacuation of much of the staff and journalists on the White House grounds on Friday evening.
Extra security measures involving uniformed Secret Service officers were in evidence around the presidential mansion and nearby Lafayette Park on Monday.
Earnest said that the ceremonial front door of the residence -- through which large groups of tourists routinely file on White House tours -- would from now on be secured when not in use.
Source: Agence France Presse
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