Intruder jumps fence, breaks into White House minutes after Obama departs

Intruder jumps fence, breaks into White House minutes after Obama departs
(Image credit: Andreas Praefcke / Wikimedia Commons)

The White House was evacuated Friday evening after a man scaled a fence, dashed across the lawn, and burst through the north portico doors before security tackled him. President Obama and his family had departed the White House only minutes before to head to Camp David.

The incident triggered a partial evacuation of the White House, as security personnel with guns drawn ushered staffers and journalists out of the building. The Texas man who breached security, identified by Secret Service as Omar J. Gonzalez, was taken to a nearby hospital after complaining of chest pain.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.