Northern Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly accuses the Secret Service of failing its duties long before an intruder was able to enter the White House. Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo has the story on how Connolly says a previous incident should have barred the intruder from ever getting that close…
In July, Virginia State Police arrested Omar Gonzales with an illegal sawed-off shotgun, two sniper rifles, and eight other weapons…along with a map that had a line drawn towards the White House. Less than three months later, Gonzalez jumped the White House fence with a small knife in his pocket and made it all the way to the East Room before being wrestled to the ground. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson testified there were only a limited number of options for agents when dealing with people with mental illnesses. Congressman Connolly accuses the Secret Service of a “comprehensive failure.” He says after the Virginia arrest of Gonzalez agents should have kept him away from the White House grounds and First Family.
"There are several options here. Certainly he could have been detained for questioning, certainly he could have been cited for violation of Federal Law and at the very least I suppose we could have gotten some kind of restraining order to keep him away from the grounds of the White House."
Connolly and other lawmakers are calling for the Secret Service to adopt new protocols after a string of incidents have hurt the agencies credibility, including a 2011 shooting incident that took agents four days to realize the White House had been hit by numerous bullets.