Police arrested two people outside the White House in separate incidents on Monday near Lafayette Square Park.
Video from the park circulating on social media shows a vehicle that appeared to run into a barrier, with the engine emitting smoke. Authorities say the driver was “combative” with law enforcement and was arrested.
“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 driver was combative with law enforcement, but was quickly placed under arrest,” a Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement.
“MPD’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal team has been called to sweep the vehicle as a precaution. Subsequently, roads around Lafayette Park have been closed,” the statement continued.
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“Around the same time, a second individual jumped a barricade near the northwest corner of Lafayette Park. That individual was also quickly placed under arrest,” it added.
The Secret Service briefly moved reporters and the press inside the White House briefing room after the incident, but they have since been released.
Authorities say both incidents are currently under investigation.
The arrests come just days after authorities arrested an illegal immigrant from Venezuela outside the White House on Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security says officers found the man inside a stolen vehicle carrying multiple guns and threatening to kill President Donald Trump.
U.S. Secret Service officers approached the suspect Thursday evening after spotting him “acting suspicious in his car while it was parked on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C.,” DHS told Fox News.
The suspect told officers he had heard voices in his head telling him to travel to the nation’s capital and kill Trump, DHS said.
Officers subsequently learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen, and the suspect admitted to having weapons inside, according to DHS.
A search of the vehicle reportedly turned up three guns, including an AR-15-style rifle and two handguns, along with dozens of rounds of ammunition.
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The suspect was identified as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, who illegally entered the country through Texas in March 2024 and was subsequently arrested by U.S. Border Patrol, according to officials.
He was later released into the country under the Biden administration, authorities said.
After his arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer for Chrinos with the U.S. Marshals Service, which currently has custody of Chrinos.
The U.S. Secret Service said the incident reflects a growing threat posed by armed individuals “drawn to the White House complex.”