Secret Service arrests driver and fence jumper near White House

Two men were arrested outside the White House on Monday morning after a car crashed onto the sidewalk at the north edge of Lafayette Park and a second man jumped a barricade at the park's northwest corner, forcing a brief lockdown of the complex.

Secret Service Police and National Guard members responded just before 10 a.m. at 16th Street and H Street NW, on the north side of Lafayette Park, a Secret Service spokesman said in a statement. The driver was combative with law enforcement and was quickly placed under arrest. The Metropolitan Police Department's Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called to sweep the vehicle as a precaution.

A second individual jumped a barricade near the northwest corner of the park at about the same time and was also quickly placed under arrest, the spokesman said. Both incidents are under investigation. The statement did not say what led to either one.

Smoke on a brick walkway

Video shot by Martin Austermuhle of The Washington Sun shows a smoking silver sedan stopped on a brick walkway just north of the White House, with Secret Service officers appearing to talk to the driver as National Guard troops stand by. Someone is heard shouting "Get on the ground!" as the driver clashes with officers, NBC Washington reported.

A Secret Service spokesman set out the sequence in a statement to the Daily Caller, which published it alongside footage from the scene.

Just before 10:00 a.m., Secret Service Police and National Guard responded to the north side of Lafayette Park at 16th Street and H Street, NW, where a vehicle crashed onto the sidewalk.

The D.C. police department's bomb squad searched the car and determined it was safe, NBC Washington reported. Roads around Lafayette Park were closed while the sweep went on, the Secret Service spokesman said. Witnesses told Fox 5 DC that they heard a popping sound before smoke began pouring from the vehicle.

The car had struck an informational sign at the north end of the square, the Press Trust of India reported.

The man pulled from the car

Several people at the scene told the Daily Caller that the driver was pulled from the car into a physical struggle, and some said he fought back and exchanged punches with the officers trying to detain him. Accounts of the incident varied.

Footage published by the Daily Caller shows the driver getting out of the vehicle and struggling with what appears to be a law enforcement officer, then additional officers and National Guard members surrounding him and bringing him to the ground.

The driver was heard shouting "Oh my God" as officers escorted him away from Lafayette Square, the Press Trust of India reported, citing social media posts.

A fence at 17th Street

The second man hopped over a temporary fence at Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street NW, near the northwest corner of Lafayette Park, NBC Washington reported. He was arrested there and taken to a hospital. Lafayette Square sits directly north of the White House, across Pennsylvania Avenue.

Witnesses told the Daily Caller they had seen someone running nearby and possibly attempting to jump or climb over a gate.

Authorities believe the two incidents are unconnected, NBC Washington reported. Fox 5 DC said the Secret Service has not confirmed whether there was any coordination or connection between the crash and the fence jump, and described the barricade jump as coming minutes after the crash. Asked by WJLA whether the two were linked, officials said that was part of the investigation.

The driver was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, related to the vehicle, and assault on a police officer, NBC Washington reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The man who jumped the barricade was charged with unlawful entry, the same source said. Authorities had not released the names of the two men or detailed the charges they face, according to Fox 5 DC.

Reporters held in the briefing room

Secret Service agents ordered journalists to stay in the briefing room in the West Wing, NBC Washington reported. The lockdown began at 10:02 a.m., the Press Trust of India reported, and lasted about 30 minutes before normal operations resumed, according to NBC Washington.

President Donald Trump was not in the Oval Office when the car hit the sign, the Press Trust of India reported, and the Secret Service statement made no reference to him.

Tourists cleared from the sidewalk

Police and National Guard troops ordered pedestrians and visitors to clear the area, shutting down surrounding streets as emergency crews responded, Fox 5 DC reported. Iris Mitchell was walking with about 20 other people near the park when one of them took off running.

We are walking with a group of about 20 people and then all of a sudden a guy with us, takes off running and scales the fence

Mitchell told Fox 5 DC that the man jumped the fence into the Lafayette Square area and kept running, and that people around her began shouting at him to freeze. Officers apprehended him quickly.

Sirens again by late afternoon

Shortly before 4 p.m., several Secret Service vehicles drove to Lafayette Park with lights and sirens on, and about 12 officers got out with their hands on their guns, NBC Washington reported. It was not immediately clear why.

Andrew David, visiting Washington from the UK, told WJLA that he realized something had happened when he came up from the Metro and found the roads toward the White House closed. He said he has been coming to the United States for the last 20 years and arrived this time on the day of the midterms. The morning did not change his mind about visiting, he said.

The arrests came four days after Secret Service officers arrested a Venezuelan national who, the Department of Homeland Security said, was found sitting in a stolen car near the White House with a carful of guns and ammunition. DHS said he told officers that voices in his head told him to come to Washington to "kill President Trump."

The motives in each case remain unclear, NBC Washington reported, and it was not immediately clear why the driver crashed into the sign.

The questions left open

Neither the driver nor the man who jumped the fence has been identified publicly by the Secret Service. The agency's statement did not explain what led to the crash or say whether anyone was injured, and it made no mention of the hospital trip NBC Washington reported.