A man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly attempted to climb a barrier that was set up in front of the White House's main fence surrounding the grounds, reported the Secret Service.
The man was not able to get over the waist-high barrier, which was placed at the site due to an incident that occurred in September last year when an intruder was able to climb the fence of the White House and was able to get inside the building.
Brian Leary, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said that the man attempted to climb over the temporary barrier on the side of the grounds facing Pennsylvania Avenue at around 2:15 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 1.
The man was taken into custody by Secret Service officers and was charged with unlawful entry, said Leary. The man was then turned over to officers of the Washington D.C. police force.
No information has been revealed regarding the captured man or any motive that he may have had on why he attempted to scale the White House fence. According to Leary, authorities will make all efforts necessary in speaking with the man to acquire the information.
The auxiliary barrier that was put up around the fence of the White House is made up of several metal, interlocking sections that have lengths of about eight feet and heights of below four feet. Each section of the barriers, made up of several vertical bars, resembles bicycle racks.
It was not determined whether there had already been previous arrests made regarding people that attempted to climb over the auxiliary barrier.
The attempt is the latest among a series of security breaches in the White House that stretch back to last year. Just last week, a small drone went undetected against the radar systems of the White House before crashing into a tree planted at the White House's South Lawn.
The inability of the radar system, which should be capable of detecting flying objects in the vicinity of the White House such as planes, missiles and bigger drones, raised new questions about the security of the presidential building. The drone, which was two feet long but was too small to be detected, caused the lockdown of the White House for a few hours.
A man contacted the Secret Service and claimed to be responsible for the incident, explaining that there was no intention to fly the drone into the White House as he was only using the quadcopter for recreational purposes.
