White House Security Expanded After Breaches
The Secret Service will be expanding the security perimeter around the south end of the White House after two intruder events last month.
The new restricted area will include the sidewalks, roadways and parkland areas between the south fence line of the White House and E Street, NW, from the Executive Avenue to East Executive Avenue. Pedestrians will be barred from the sidewalk bordering the South Lawn of the complex, the Secret Service said in a statement.
The new plan will attempt to replicate a buffer zone created on Pennsylvania Avenue, where iron bicycle racks were placed in front of the perimeter fence to provide officers with additional time to react to fence jumpers.
"Restricting public access to the fence line will not only serve to lessen the possibility of individuals illegally accessing the White House grounds," Secret Service Communications Director Cathy Milhoan said "but will also create a clear visual break to enable Secret Service officers to identify and respond to potential hazards including individuals attempting to scale the fence."
The changes come after two incidents in March, the first involving a man carrying a backpack who jumped an outer-perimeter fence on the complex’s southeast side and spent 17 minutes on White House grounds while President Trump was inside.
Less than a week later, a woman was arrested after she got her shoelaces tangled after trying to jump the White House fence.