Man arrested, charged after White House grounds breach

A man with a backpack was arrested late Friday after breaching the White House grounds and made his first court appearance Saturday.

The suspected intruder was discovered by a Secret Service agent on the South Grounds, close to the south entrance to the executive residence, the Secret Service said in a statement Saturday.

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The incident occurred shortly before midnight on Friday, while President Trump was in the White House, according to CNN. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly was briefed on the incident, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.

Trump praised the Secret Service for stopping the intruder, telling reporters as he began a meeting with Cabinet officials at a golf club he owns in Virginia that the agents did a “fantastic job.” He referred to the suspected intruder as “a troubled person” and called the situation “sad.”

The suspect was later identified as Jonathan Tran, 26, of Milpitas, Calif. He is charged with entering or remaining on restricted grounds while possessing a dangerous weapon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced Saturday.

The charge carries up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

According to court documents, Tran was found carrying two cans of mace in addition to a letter he wrote to Trump. He said in the letter that he had information relevant to the issue of “Russian hackers,” according to charging documents.

“I am a friend of the president. I have an appointment,” the man told the arresting Secret Service officer, according to documents.

The Secret Service officer, identified as a member of the White House’s Uniform Division, arrested Tran after he said the suspect told him he had jumped the fence. The suspect was also carrying a laptop and “a book written by President Trump,” according to court documents.

Tran appeared in court on Saturday and will appear again on Monday afternoon.

The White House was reportedly placed under the security alert level “orange,” one of the highest alert levels, during the Friday night incident.

Authorities said that the suspect scaled the perimeter fence by East Executive Avenue and the Treasury Building.

Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers made the arrest without incident, the Secret Service’s statement said. The statement had also said that a thorough search of the intruder’s backpack revealed no hazardous materials.

The Secret Service had proceeded to search the north and south grounds of the White House complex. 

“Nothing of concern to security operations was found,” the statement read.

Updated at 6:59 p.m.

Secret Service statement on White House grounds intruder incident pic.twitter.com/ZfJgG9XWza

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 11, 2017