Obama: Climate Change Is Working Faster Than Our Efforts
President Barack Obama, in his goal to finish his last two (2) years with a benchmark as catalyst of change, doubles his efforts in fighting against the world's most serious problem-climate change. Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Another man managed to jump the White House fence on Wednesday. This will add to the list of security lapses the White House has suffered over the years.

The security levels at the White House were questioned only around a month ago when another intruder scaled the fence while he held a knife in his hand. He managed to get inside the executive mansion. This time, it was a 23-year-old man from Maryland, who was promptly apprehended by uniformed Secret Service agents on the North Lawn. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson resigned after the earlier incident had taken place.

Al Jazeera reported that U.S. President Barack Obama was at the White House when the incident took place. According to Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary, the intruder was identified as Dominic Adesanya of Bel Air, Maryland. He climbed the north fence line, often regarded as the most vulnerable one for intrusion. One of the most dangerous intrusions that took place in Oct 1978 also involved the north fence. Anthony Henry wore a karate uniform and climbed the fence. He took out a knife from a bible and injured a couple of guards. It was later revealed that he wanted the-then U.S. President Jimmy Carter to remove the phrase "In God We Trust" from dollar notes.

Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said that specially trained dogs (aka K-9) were used agents to help arrest the intruder. "The individual was immediately taken into custody on the North lawn of the White House by Secret Service Uniformed Division K-9 teams and Uniformed Division Officers," he said. A couple of trained dogs had to be taken to a veterinarian "for injuries sustained during the incident," he added. One video showed the intruder punching one of the dogs which attacked him. The intruder jumped the fence at around 7:15 pm. He was shortly apprehended as the White House was locked down for around 90 minutes. The lockdown was lifted at 9 pm.

Leary said that the intruder did not carry any weapons. According to the Secret Service spokesman, charges were pending against Adesanya who had been taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au

RELATED STORIES