The White House seen from outside the north lawn fence in Washington September 22, 2014.
The White House seen from outside the north lawn fence in Washington September 22, 2014. The Texas man accused of breaking into the White House while armed with a knife is a U.S. military veteran who was decorated for his service in the Iraq war, the U.S. Army said on Sunday. Omar Gonzalez, 42, is expected to appear in court in Washington on Monday facing a charge of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The highest level of security in the White House was breached on Friday, Sept 19 when Texas man Omar Gonzalez entered arguably the "safest building" in the United States by scaling the north fence. The Secret Service started rechecking security protocols in the building. While the north fence is apparently the most popular gateway for intruders, the White House saw multiple security breaches in the past. Here are five of those.

July 1976

It was July 27, 1976 when 30-year-old Chester Plummer took a 3-foot-long metal pipe and climbed the fence to move toward the White House. The Washington taxi driver, who had been a decorated veteran from the U.S. Army, was shot down by an officer. He was an Afro-American and the first known intruder to the White House. He died 90 minutes after having been shot down.

Oct. 1978

This has been one of the most dangerous intrusions in the history of the White House. Anthony Henry wore a karate uniform and climbed the north fence on Oct 3, 1978. When security guards confronted him, he injured a couple of them with a knife which he took out from a bible. He was eventually arrested. 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.

Jan. 1985

It happened only hours before Ronald Reagan had been elected as the U.S. President for the second consecutive time. Secret Service got hold of 45-year-old Robert Latta who had apparently been wandering for around 15 minutes inside the White House premises. He later said that he had got inside with the Marine Corps band. He also claimed that he was going to see the Presidential ceremony.

Oct. 1994

Bill Clinton was the American president when 26-year-old Francisco Martin Duran entered the White House and opened fire for around 29 rounds. It was Oct 29, 1994 as President Clinton was watching a football match that time. He was arrested and sentenced 40 years for an attempt to assassinate the American president.

Nov. 2009

Aspiring stars of reality TV, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, slipped through a couple of security checkpoints and managed to reach a state dinner at the White House. They had talks with President Barack Obama as well as the vice president. The U.S. state dinner that the Virginia couple attended was for the-then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India expressed shock to know about the breach. The couple, however, maintained that they had been invited to the dinner.

Source 1 & 2

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