A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Omar Gonzalez, a 42-year old Army veteran, on three counts for allegedly scaling the White House fence and sprinting inside the executive mansion earlier this month. [READ INDICTMENT.]
Gonzalez will face federal indictment for unlawfully entering a restricted building while carrying a deadly weapon. He’ll also face trial for carrying a dangerous weapon outside a home and unlawful possession of ammunition, both violations of District of Columbia law.
{mosads}According to prosecutors, police discovered more than 800 rounds of ammunition, two hatchets and a machete in the Gonzalez’s car, parked just blocks from the White House. A black folding knife with a 3 1/2 inch blade was discovered in his right front pants pocket.
Gonzalez faces a maximum of 16 years in prison stemming from the three charges. He’s expected to appear Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday he had “complete confidence in the ability of the U.S. attorney here in the District of Columbia to fully prosecute this individual who has been charged with a crime.”
“The decisions about the decisions about which charges to file against this individual are made by career prosecutors, and this is as it should be,” Earnest said. “And I have confidence in the ability of those career prosecutors to bring this individual to justice.”
The Secret Service has come under fire for its handling of the incident, and especially after revelations this week that Gonzalez was able to make it far further inside the White House than previously reported.
During testimony on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Secret Service Director Julia Pierson said it was “clear that our security plan was not properly executed.”
“This is unacceptable and I take full responsibility,” Pierson said.