Shortly before midnight last night, with President Trump in residence, Secret Service arrested a backpack-carrying man who breached security by scaling a fence near the south entrance to The White House.
The Washington Post reports, the person scaled a White House fence Friday night and was arrested on the grounds of the presidential residence, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
The incident occurred about 11:38 p.m. on the south grounds of the executive mansion. Uniformed officers with the Secret Service arrested the person without incident, according to a statement.
Authorities said the person was carrying a backpack that was searched. It did not contain any hazardous materials, the Secret Service statement said.
Officials did not identify the person who was arrested. Officers searched the north and south grounds of the White House complex and found nothing.
CNN confirms President Trump, who was in residence at The White House, was made aware of the situation, and The White House was placed under security condition "orange," one of the highest levels of security for the Secret Service.
This appears to be the first incident of President Trump's term, but as CNN notes, there have been numerous instances of people trespassing on the White House grounds over the last several years.
In one notable instance in 2014, 42-year-old Omar Gonzales, of Copperas Cove, Texas, made it through the north portico doors with a three-and-a-half-inch folding knife in his pants pocket, according to the Secret Service. Gonzalez was apprehended just after making it inside the doors, the Secret Service said. The first family was not at the White House at the time.
In another, the Secret Service apprehended Joseph Caputo, of Stamford, Connecticut, on the North Lawn after he scaled the fence wearing an American flag-like cape while the first family was inside the residence celebrating Thanksgiving.
The White House issued the following statement on the intruder incident:
Secret Service statement on White House grounds intruder incident pic.twitter.com/ZfJgG9XWza
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 11, 2017