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The White House security report has found that an intruder armed with a knife managed to dodge guards and enter the building because of poor communication and a series of lapses.
Omar Gonzalez jumped over the fence in September, ran past guards and was only stopped deep inside the building.
An official US inquiry says Secret Service agents – including one with an attack dog – did not react on time or in the right manner.
The Secret Service chief, Julia Pierson, resigned, partly as a result of this breach.
She stepped down after details emerged of this incident, and of previous breaches in the security surrounding the president.
The latest findings about the September incident are part of a broader inquiry into the lapses, led by the Department of Homeland Security.
According to The New York Times, an executive summary of the inquiry released on Thursday night said the blame for the breach lay with “performance, organization and technical” failures.
Several lapses were highlighted in the report, pointing to a lack of training, bad staffing decisions and failures in communication.
The report described in detail how agents had missed a series of opportunities to stop Omar Gonzalez – on the evening of the intrusion as well in the run-up to it.
Omar Gonzalez scaled the fence at a point where a spike was missing, the report said.
Many officers at a gate on Pennsylvania Avenue did not have a clear view of him because of a construction project.
An officer with an attack dog on the White House driveway was using his mobile phone at the time, and did not hear warnings on his radio earpiece, or on another radio, which had been stashed away in a locker.
Two officers who were pursuing Omar Gonzalez did not expect him to pass through thick bushes, which he did.
Doors into the White House that officers had assumed were locked turned out to be open. Some officers also hesitated to follow Omar Gonzalez because they did not know the layout of the building, the report said.
Once inside the building, the report said Omar Gonzalez was able to push past a female officer, who was smaller than him and who had accidently reached for her torch instead of a metal baton.
He was eventually tackled in the East Room, a long, ornately-decorated chamber used for presidential addresses and formal receptions.
Early on in the intrusion, warnings were not relayed properly to agents inside the White House building because alarm systems and radios failed to function as intended.
The report also cited failings in the run-up to the intrusion, as the former soldier’s suspicious behavior had attracted the attention of the authorities several times.
Omar Gonzalez was stopped in Virginia in July. Then, officers found two powerful rifles, four handguns and other firearms and ammunition in his vehicle along with a map marking the White House.
President Barack Obama and his family were not at the White House when the intrusion happened, having departed about 10 minutes earlier by helicopter.
Omar Gonzalez has been indicted on charges including unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of ammunition.
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Secret Service Director Julia Pierson has resigned following several high-profile security lapses.
Julia Pierson offered her resignation to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on October 1.
On September 30, Julia Pierson faced angry questions in Congress about a major breach of White House security.
News of another incident involving an armed man allowed in an elevator with President Barack Obama compounded calls for her to go.
“Today Julia Pierson, the Director of the United States Secret Service, offered her resignation, and I accepted it,” Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson wrote in a statement.
“I salute her 30 years of distinguished service to the Secret Service and the Nation.”
President Barack Obama also expressed his appreciation to Julia Pierson for her long history of public service, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on October 1.
Julia Pierson offered her resignation because “she believed it was in the best interests of the agency to which she has dedicated her career”, Josh Earnest added.
Julia Pierson faced angry questions in Congress about a major breach of White House security
In an interview with Bloomberg News after her resignation was announced, Julia Pierson said she knew Congress had “lost confidence in my ability to run the agency”.
Joseph Clancy, in charge of the presidential protective division of the Secret Service, will take over as acting interim director.
High-ranking members of the Congress had been calling for Julia Pierson’s resignation in the wake of her testimony before a House oversight committee on September 30.
There Julia Pierson acknowledged the Secret Service security plan was “not executed properly” during a recent breach of the White House.
On September 19, suspect Omar Gonzalez, 42, allegedly scaled a fence and gained entry to the White House while carrying a knife.
On October 1, Omar Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to charges against him, including entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Prosecutors say Omar Gonzalez jumped the main fence around the White House and gained entry inside through an unlocked door, then barreled past a guard and ran into the East Room before being tackled.
The incident is the latest in a string of security lapses overseen by the Secret Service, tasked with guarding the Obama family.
On September 16, President Barack Obama is said to have been in an Atlanta elevator with an armed security contractor who had assault convictions.
This contravened a protocol that only members of the Secret Service are allowed to carry weapons in the presence of the president.
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Secret Service Director Julia Pierson says the agency’s security plan was “not properly executed” when Omar Gonzalez broke into the White House this month, a lapse she said would never be repeated.
At a House of Representatives oversight committee hearing, Julia Pierson took responsibility for the “unacceptable” breach.
She was addressing congressmen angry over the September 19 break-in.
The 42-year-old intruder, Omar Gonzalez, scaled a fence, ran across the lawn, entered an unlocked door and was tackled inside.
Omar Gonzalez made it well into the first floor of the White House, having pushed his way past a guard standing just inside the unlocked door of the North Portico. He was tackled in the East Room, a long, ornately decorated chamber used for presidential addresses and formal receptions.
“It is clear that our security plan was not executed properly,” said Julia Pierson in testimony at the House Oversight committee hearing, where lawmakers of both parties expressed anger at a number of recent lapses by agency personnel and incidents of agents’ misbehavior.
“I take full responsibility; what happened is unacceptable and it will never happen again.”
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson says the agency’s security plan was not properly executed when Omar Gonzalez broke into the White House this month
While acknowledging the recent failure, Julia Pierson said the agency’s “emergency action plans” were “multifaceted and tailored to each threat”.
She said that agents and uniformed officers had apprehended 16 people who had jumped over the White House fence over the past five years, including six in 2014 alone.
Julia Pierson also said they had dealt with hundreds of people who had approached the grounds and made verbal threats or acted suspiciously.
She had ordered a full review of White House security procedures and said “all decisions made that evening are being evaluated, including decisions on tactics and use of force”.
Committee chairman Darrell Issa, a California Republican, said the White House complex was supposed to be one of the most secure places in the world but the breach had exposed serious problems in the protective agency.
“The system broke down on September 19 as it did when the Salahis crashed a state dinner in November 2009, or when Oscar Ortega-Hernandez successfully shot at the White House on November 2011, or when agents engaged in prostitution in Cartagena in April 2012, or when agents showed terrible judgment and got drunk in the Netherlands in March 2014,” he said, referring to previous, well publicized breaches at the White House and scandals involving Secret Service agents.
Congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican, said he was concerned the Secret Service was sending mixed messages when it praised its officers for “tremendous restraint” following the September 19 incident.
Democratic Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents the District of Columbia, said the issues facing the agency were not a “mere question of personnel” and called for a “21st Century makeover” of the agency.
Barack Obama and his family were not at the White House when the latest intrusion happened, having departed about 10 minutes earlier by helicopter.
Omar Gonzalez has been charged with unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon.
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According to new reports, Omar Gonzalez, the man arrested for breaking into the White House earlier this month, gained access to more of the building than previously believed.
Omar Gonzalez, 42, made it to the East Room in the White House on September 19, unidentified officials told multiple news outlets.
It was earlier reported the intruder was stopped at the North Portico doors after scaling the building’s main fence.
The Secret Service boss will be questioned about the breach on September 30.
Lawmakers on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will ask Secret Service Director Julia Pierson to explain this latest lapse.
Omar Gonzalez – armed with a knife – barreled past a guard posted at the door of the White House and ran into the East Room before being tackled by authorities, unnamed officials told the Washington Post.
Omar Gonzalez gained access to more of the White House than previously believed
The long, ornately decorated room is frequently used for presidential addresses and formal receptions.
The Secret Service, responsible for President Barack Obama’s security, has so far declined to comment on the latest information.
The agency has undergone a review of its procedures in the wake of the breach and erected a temporary fence outside the White House.
Omar Gonzalez, meanwhile, has been charged with unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon.
The Iraq War veteran was previously stopped by Virginia police in July.
Officers found two powerful rifles, four handguns and other firearms and ammunition in Omar Gonzalez’s vehicle along with a map marking the White House.
An unnamed federal law enforcement official earlier told the Associated Press news agency Secret Service agents had interviewed Omar Gonzalez twice during the summer but concluded there was no evidence he was a security threat.
Barack Obama and his family were not at the White House when the intrusion happened, having departed about 10 minutes earlier by helicopter.
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A second fence has been erected between the White House and a thoroughfare popular with tourists, local residents and workers, days after Omar Gonzalez scaled the main fence and entered the mansion through an unlocked door.
The Secret Service said the new fence created a “temporary buffer zone” while it reviewed its procedures.
The new barrier is a series of linked sections about 3.2ft high.
Omar Gonzalez, 42, is being held in connection with September 19 intrusion.
Authorities say the man was carrying a 3.5in knife and faces charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building carrying a “deadly or dangerous weapon”.
A second fence has been erected between the White House and a thoroughfare popular with tourists, local residents and workers
Omar Gonzalez, an Iraq War veteran, was previously stopped by Virginia police in July. Officers found two powerful rifles, four handguns and other firearms and ammunition in Omar Gonzalez’s vehicle along with a map marking the White House.
An unnamed federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press news agency Secret Service agents had interviewed Omar Gonzalez twice during the summer but concluded there was no evidence he was a security threat.
President Barack Obama and his family were not at the White House when the intrusion happened, having departed about 10 minutes earlier by helicopter.
The new fence went up late Monday evening.
The Secret Service, which protects the president, the vice-president, their families and visiting foreign dignitaries, in addition to other security duties, did not say how long the second barrier would be in place.
A review of security was initiated by Secret Service director Julia Pierson, who also ordered “the immediate enhancement of officer patrols and surveillance capabilities” around the White House.
Pennsylvania Avenue, which runs in front of the north facade of the White House, was closed to vehicular traffic in 1995 but remains highly popular with tourists as well as residents and office workers seeking a short cut through the parks surrounding the president’s home.
Since September 19, Washington DC residents and media figures have angrily rejected the suggestion the Secret Service screen pedestrians and cyclists who want to enter the closed stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue or block it off entirely.
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Omar Gonzalez, the man who broke into the White House on September 19, had 800 rounds of ammunition, a machete and two hatchets in his car, authorities have said.
Omar Gonzalez, 42, was carrying a knife when stopped by Secret Service officers just inside the building.
On September 22, officials said Omar Gonzalez was also arrested in July with two rifles and a map marking the White House.
The Secret Service says it has stepped up security and launched a comprehensive review of procedures.
Omar Gonzalez, a US military veteran who was decorated for his service in the Iraq war, faces charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building carrying a “deadly or dangerous weapon”.
During his court hearing on September 22, federal prosecutors also said Omar Gonzalez was stopped but not arrested in August after he walked past the White House with a hatchet.
Assistant US Attorney David Mudd said that the accused intruder was a danger to the president, and a judge agreed to hold him in jail until a hearing in October.
Video footage showed Omar Gonzalez running across a White House lawn after scaling a fence on September 19.
Omar Gonzalez was only stopped after entering the North Portico doors, the Secret Service said. He was later found to be carrying a 3.5in folding knife.
Omar Gonzalez served in the military from 1997 until his discharge in 2003, and again from 2005 to December 2012 (photo AP)
President Barack Obama and his daughters had just left the White House by helicopter before Omar Gonzalez entered, but White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the president was “obviously concerned” about what happened.
Immediately after the incident the Secret Service increased foot patrols along the perimeter fence, deployed additional surveillance resources, and changed the procedures for ensuring the entrance to the building is secure, Josh Earnest said.
“The president is confident the changes will be properly implemented,” he said.
The review of security was initiated by Secret Service director Julia Pierson, who also ordered “the immediate enhancement of officer patrols and surveillance capabilities” around the White House.
In July, police found two powerful rifles, four handguns and other firearms and ammunition in Omar Gonzalez’s vehicle along with a White House map when he was stopped in south-west Virginia, a local prosecutor told the Associated Press news agency.
He served in the military from 1997 until his discharge in 2003, and again from 2005 to December 2012, when he retired due to disability, the AP reported.
Family and friends told the Washington Post Omar Gonzalez was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving as a sniper in Iraq.
An apparently unrelated incident on September 20 saw a man drive up to a vehicle gate in the complex and refuse to leave.
Secret Service agents shut down nearby streets and searched the vehicle for explosives.
Officials said the incident was an “everyday occurrence”.
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