Naked Man Arrested At White House

The Secret Service arrested a man who stripped naked at the White House security gate earlier today. He was charged with indecent exposure and assault, according to a report in the The Daily Caller.

A reporter for the Caller happened to be on the scene for the incident, which took place around 2:45 pm today (Friday May 23) while reporters filed through the security gate for Mr.Obama’s 3:30 pm press conference, in which he named Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan as the next director of the Office of Management and Budget. The man, whom the secret service identified as Michel Bechard, according to The Hill, approached the gate on Pennsylvania Avenue and attempted to gain entry. He reportedly told the White House guards, “I have a 3 pm meeting with Mr. Obama.” Bechard was turned away because he produced foreign identification (White House security requires an American drivers license, an international license, or a passport). Bechard walked away “looking upset,” but the incident was far from over.

According to The Daily Caller, Bechard then began to disrobe outside of the White House gate. When a Secret Service agent asked the man what he was doing, Bechard reportedly yelled back “I HAVE A 3 PM APPOINTMENT WITH MR. OBAMA!” The Secret Service agents then tackled him to the ground, thus bringing a foil blanket to “cover his nakedness.” Reporters were moved from the area in case pepper spray needed to be used to subdue the naked man, and a blockade was set up down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.

NBC’s Suzanne Gamboa tweeted a picture of the event as it happened, showing Secret Service agents wresting Mr. Bechard to the ground outside the White House gate:

Naked guy at White House. pic.twitter.com/IfdnG1Wehl

— Suzanne Gamboa (@SuzGamboa) May 23, 2014

Mr. Bechard was taken to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries, according to Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie. He will be arrested, according to the Washington Post.

The attempted gate crashing, which took place in an area of the White House perimeter that is commonly used by protesters, is hardly the first issue to occur in recent months. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the White House was locked down twice in one week earlier this month, once when a driver followed a motorcade that included President Obama’s daughters into a secure area of the White house, and once again when a cassette tape and “miscellaneous papers” were thrown over the White House fence in separate incidents. In February, the White House was put on lockdown when a man was apprehended trying to jump the fence. Last October, a woman was shot and killed by Secret Service officers after driving her car into a security barrier near the White House.

[Image via The Daily Caller]