A man carrying a backpack and a letter to President Trump was detained by law enforcement after he breached the White House’s security. Jonathan T. Tran was discovered by a uniformed Secret Service officer near the South entrance to the President’s residence. The breach in security occurred just before midnight on Friday. The President was within the grounds at the time.
Mr. Tran, from California, told members of the Secret Service he was there to see the President. “No, I am a friend of the President. I have an appointment,” he said when one of the officers approached him. His words were recorded in a released report from the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.
Once the question about how he achieved entry into the grounds was posed, Mr. Tran responded, “I jumped the fence.” Officers who discovered Mr. Tran found within his possession two cans of mace at the time of his arrest.
Tran appeared in D.C. Superior Court shortly before 5 p.m. He barely spoke through the proceedings, only responding a faint “yes” when he was read his rights. He was dressed in a blue hoodie and a pair of khakis at the time he appeared in court. Tran faces charges of unlawful entry. He is to appear in federal court on Monday for his arraignment. The judge at the Superior Court said there was sufficient ground to hold Mr. Tran as he could be a danger to the community as well as a flight risk.
A police report released on the incident describes Tran’s breach. Further, surveillance footage from White House security shows Tran jumping the fence at the Northwest courtyard of the Treasury building. From there, Tran is seen making his way towards the White House. At one point, he hid behind one of the White House’s pillars before going on to the executive resident’s Southern entrance. Despite the footage, he was not discovered until a uniformed Secret Service officer approached him.
In a complaint filed in the US District Court, Secret Service officer Wayne Azevedo described the results of a search done on Tran after he was arrested. “Two cans of mace were found on Tran, including one his jacket pocket. Tran was also carrying among other things, a United States passport, an Apple laptop computer, a book written by President Trump, and a letter he had written to President Trump,” the description said.
Further, Azevedo described the contents of the letter Tran had addressed to the President. The complaint states, “In the letter, Tran mentioned Russian hackers and said he had information of relevance. Tran alleged that he had been followed, and his ‘phone and email communications (had been) read by third parties,’ and that he had ‘been called schizophrenic.'”
Currently, the White House’s security condition is under level “orange,” which is one of the top safety standards for the Secret Service.
The President was alerted over the incident. He has described the suspect as disturbed and congratulated the Secret Service for doing a “fantastic job.”
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has reflected the same sentiments. He said during Saturday’s press conference that the “Secret Service did a phenomenal job and they continue to provide phenomenal protection to the President and the first family, and the President was very appreciative of their efforts.”
