WASHINGTON (AP) – The Secret Service is boosting security outside the White House following an embarrassing security breach in which an intruder with a knife scaled the White House fence and made it all the way inside before agents managed to stop him.
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson is ordering increased surveillance and more officer patrols around the north fence. She’s also launched a full investigation into what went wrong.
The new measures come as the elite agency seeks to allay concerns about its ability to keep President Barack Obama safe. The White House says Obama has full confidence in the Secret Service.
The Secret Service says a 42-year-old Texas man had a small folding knife with him Friday when he jumped the fence. He was apprehended just inside the North Portico doors.