Man arrested outside White House grounds

Incident comes after small drone crashed on the White House lawn last week

By AP and ToI Staff 2 February 2015, 4:12 am

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Uniformed Secret Service officers walk along the lawn on the north side of the White House in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. (AP/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON — The Secret Service arrested a man who climbed a bicycle rack outside the White House grounds Sunday, and he’s been charged with unlawful entry.

Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said the incident happened at a temporary bike rack on Pennsylvania Avenue on Sunday afternoon. The rack is set back from the White House fence, making it unlikely that anyone could use it to get over.

Leary said the man was turned over to District of Columbia police after his arrest.

Last week, authorities investigated the crash of a small drone on the White House lawn, controlled by a man who said he did not intend for it to go there.

In September, a knife-wielding intruder managed to scale a fence, run across the lawn and enter the White House, in an embarrassing security breach for the Secret Service.