Man Climbs Bicycle Rack Outside White House Grounds, Gets Arrested By Secret Service

In yet another case of a security breach at the White House, a man who attempted to enter the White House compound by scaling a bicycle rack has been arrested. According to ABC News, the incident happened earlier today on Sunday. The man, who has been arrested by officials from the Secret Service, has not been identified yet. According to initial reports, the bicycle rack was a temporary structure outside the White House grounds.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by Brian Leary, a Secret Service spokesperson, confirmed that the breach did happen. He added that the bicycle rack in question is set back from the White House and that it was difficult for anyone to breach it. He added that the individual who tried to scale the fence had been handed over to District of Columbia police for further investigations. A report by the Star Tribune also adds that he would be charged with unlawful entry and would be tried accordingly.

The news about this latest attempt by a person to breach White House security comes just a week after security alarms were sounded after a mysterious drone landed on the lawn outside White House. The mystery was solved after the Secret Service confirmed that the drone was operated by one of their own staff members and that it had landed there by accident. President Obama was on a three-day-visit to India at that time.

The Secret Service has, over the course of the past few months, come under severe criticism from several fronts for the manner in which the security has been managed at the White House. This has been partly fueled by multiple attempts by people to breach the security cordon outside the building and their ability to make deep inroads into White House property. Last year, a man later identified as Omar J. Gonzalez was able to make it quite far inside the White House lawns before he was arrested by Secret Police officials.

Following that incident, senior officials at the Secret Service recommended a review of the security protocols being used at the White House. However, with an increase in the number of attempted forceful entries into the White House, it seems none of the security review recommendations and measures taken to prevent such incidents have been successful.

[Image via the N.Y. Post ]