White House Briefly Locked Down Over Barricade Jumper, Reports Say

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An individual who tried to jump over a barricade near the White House on Wednesday caused a stir and forced a reported lockdown of the building.

The unidentified suspect was detained by Secret Service agents shortly after trying to leap the barricade, the agency said on Twitter.

Initial reports from media members inside of the White House claimed that the building was placed on lockdown for an “unspecified reason.” Reporters were told to stay inside of the White House while the situation unfolded. The matter later turned out to be because of the Secret Service responding to the suspect who attempted to get over the bike rack barricade nearby.

Agents were seen on the White House lawn shortly after the ordeal took place, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

After the suspect was detained, the reported “brief lockdown” was lifted and people were allowed to walk around the White House driveway.

The incident took place at around 4:28 p.m. EDT neat 17th Street and E Street.

The barricade jumper comes at a time of heightened tension at the White House and for President Donald Trump.

Just hours before Wednesday’s incident, a man was apprehended by authorities at Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. with an AR-15 assault rifle and ammunition.

The suspect in that incident was identified as Bryan Moles. It wasn’t immediately clear why he had the arsenal of weapons or what his motive was, but the D.C. police chief said at a news conference that someone tipped authorities off before he entered the hotel, and that may have averted a “disaster.”

One day prior, comedian Kathy Griffin caused a stir when photos of her holding what appears to be the bloody head of Trump were published. She since apologized for the incident, but was fired from her gig on CNN’s New Years Eve special because of it.

Trump weighed in on Twitter on Wednesday morning, saying that his son Barron was horrified by Griffin’s pictures.

In March, an intruder, later identified as Jonathan Tran of California, was arrested after he breached the White House grounds and got past security. He got all the way up to the south residence entrance before he was noticed.

He told responding authorities that he was a “friend of the president,” had “an appointment” with Trump and was carrying mace inside of a backpack.