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You are here: Home / Organizing & Resistance / Enhanced Protest Techniques / The Secret Service & the Fence-Jumpers

The Secret Service & the Fence-Jumpers

by Anne Laurie|  September 21, 20149:25 am| 42 Comments

This post is in: Enhanced Protest Techniques, Security Theatre

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From the local paper in the company town, the Washington Post:

The Secret Service on Saturday launched a security review to learn how a man carrying a knife was able to get inside the front door of the White House on Friday night after jumping a fence and sprinting more than 70 yards across the North Lawn — the first time that has ever happened…

The success Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, had in breaching White House security Friday night — roughly 10 minutes after the president and his daughters lifted off the south grounds in his helicopter for Camp David — exposed new, worrisome gaps in the Secret Service’s extensive efforts to keep the first family safe and make the White House a “hard target.”…

This was certainly a serious event, but let’s not allow surprise to terrorize us into stupidity (again).

“This is totally and wholly unacceptable. . . . How safe is the president if this can happen?” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security. “I just can’t believe somebody can go that far without being impeded. The perception they are creating is only going to inspire more security breaches.”…

That would be Jason Chaffetz, professional pants-pisser & Fox News favorite. He worries a great deal about “the perception they are creating”, because there’s a Black, Democratic President in the White House, and the wide world is just full of the kind of people Jason Chaffetz never saw growing up in Utah.

Officers at the scene considered Gonzalez to be unarmed and likely mentally disturbed, a law enforcement official familiar with the incident said, and thus a low risk. It turned out Gonzalez was carrying the knife in his pants pocket. One source familiar with the incident said a sniper on scene had Gonzalez in his rifle sights just in case.

Edwin Donovan, spokesman for the Secret Service, said Gonzalez’s ability to get into the executive mansion is “obviously concerning. . . . What happened here is not acceptable to us, and it’s going to be closely reviewed.” …

Confession time: I habitually carry (on my keychain) a 2-1/2″ folding blade, which has subdued many a loose thread & stubborn package seal. I’ll bet I’m not alone in the BJ community, either.

Former agents said they fear the breach may be related to a severe staffing shortage the agency has struggled with in the last year in its Uniform Division. This is the team of officers with primary responsibility for securing the White House grounds, and the service has been flying in agents from field offices around the country to do temporary assignments. Those agents naturally would have less familiarity with the grounds and intruder response plans.

The service, which once enjoyed a sterling reputation as an elite law enforcement agency, has struggled with some embarrassing episodes recently and the perception that its leadership is lagging in the best security strategies…

It’s exceedingly rare for an intruder to get this close to the president’s residence. But fence-jumpers at the White House have become an all-too-frequent part of the job for the Secret Service. Nevertheless, almost all of these individuals are stopped and subdued within seconds of crossing the perimeter…

A 2003 Secret Service study found that fence-jumpers accounted for about half of nearly 200 security breaches in the previous two decades, cases in which an intruder defeated agency checkpoints or perimeters set up to protect the president and other officials…

There certainly seems to be “an uptick” in the number of White House intruder incidents, which no doubt has something to do with the fact that Obama is our first African-American President. But there’s also an uptick in all sorts of alarming news tidbits, now that (a) security around every government building has been tightened so much since 9/11/01, and (b) everybody has a camera to record incidents like this, and the internet to share their pics with the whole world. And at least some of those intruders were less interested in harming the President than in their (disordered) perception that he would be on their side, that they had vital information which was being kept from him…

Gonzalez told agents who apprehended him that he was very concerned the “atmosphere was collapsing” and he needed to get the president to get the word out to the people…

Assistant Public Defender Margarita O’Donnell argued that Gonzalez had no convictions, no arrest warrants, tested negative Saturday for drug use and had served 18 years in the U.S. military including three tours in Iraq…

Gonzalez spent six years in Iraq with Army Special Forces as a sniper, according to his former stepson, Jerry S. Murphy.

“He’s a very good guy. He is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder,” Murphy said. “I don’t believe he had any intention in hurting anybody. He has served his country for years.”

He said that Gonzalez was not a terrorist but has been living out of his car the past two years, driving around the country with his two dogs…

Again: Not to underemphasize the seriousness of any WH intrusion, but this was not Mr. Professional Super-Terrorist using his ninja skills in an assassination attempt. I think our tax dollars would be better spent properly staffing & training the Secret Service — and, not incidentally, doing a better job of supporting veterans with mental health issues — than letting Jason Chaffetz go on an expensive fishing expedition for the tv cameras.

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42Comments

  1. 1.

    MattF

    September 21, 2014 at 9:38 am

    So, what is it with these congresscritters? It’s almost as though they don’t do anything in Congress, and spend all their time on FOX teevee trying to make sure people are anxious and resentful… Ah, wait a minute…

  2. 2.

    Mike J

    September 21, 2014 at 9:42 am

    The way you know the Secret Service are professionals, unlike the Seattle PD:

    “You’re accountable for every round. You need to think about not just the target but what’s behind the target,” the insider said.

    http://news.yahoo.com/why-the-secret-service-didn-t-shoot-the-fence-jumper-160933257.html

    (thanks whoever posted this last night)

  3. 3.

    WereBear

    September 21, 2014 at 9:58 am

    doing a better job of supporting veterans with mental health issues

    It would probably cost less, too!

    Once upon a time, there was the concept of “taking a rest” where people were allowed a space to live in without stresses. Now, they get a fuss at homecoming and they are expected to jump right into our modern life… which is extremely stressful, in my opinion.

    Stupidly so.

  4. 4.

    Patternmaker

    September 21, 2014 at 10:00 am

    I can’t help but notice that Gonzales is still alive despite breaking into THE WHITE HOUSE WITH A KNIFE while we’re hearing every week abou cops who “had to” shoot objects of routine police work. Maybe the Secret Service folks are trained and led pretty well after all.

  5. 5.

    Amir Khalid

    September 21, 2014 at 10:13 am

    @Mike J:
    @Patternmaker:
    There are probably people out there who think that Secret Service agents’ lack of trigger-happiness is unmanly and endangers the President, even that one. You know, the kind of people who like this song unironically.

  6. 6.

    The Pale Scot

    September 21, 2014 at 10:21 am

    Mark Twain said the beginning of wisdom is when you start carrying a pocket knife.

  7. 7.

    Ken

    September 21, 2014 at 10:23 am

    The only rational (sensu Rep. Chaffetz) response is land mines under the north lawn. We could use the new smart mines, so they can be deactivated remotely for the Easter egg hunts and other events.

  8. 8.

    danielx

    September 21, 2014 at 10:27 am

    @MattF:

    Kinda hard to call it a conspiracy when it’s right out there in the open, ain’t it?

  9. 9.

    ericblair

    September 21, 2014 at 10:35 am

    Intruder prevented from doing any harm, was not harmed himself during apprehension, everybody is safe: as a Sane Person I’m failing to see what the disaster is here. I guess any intruder should be shredded into hamburger as soon as he looks funny at the fence, unless he has an AR15 and Gadsden flag, in which case the SS should roll out the red carpet. Or something.

    @Ken:

    We could use the new smart mines, so they can be deactivated remotely for the Easter egg hunts and other events.

    Party pooper.

  10. 10.

    glocksman

    September 21, 2014 at 10:45 am

    @The Pale Scot:

    I’m not at that point in my enlightenment yet, but I do keep a Japanese made copy of a British Army/Navy knife in the armrest compartment in my car.

  11. 11.

    Mike in NC

    September 21, 2014 at 10:46 am

    Chaffetz should be polygraphed and water-boarded just for his own good, and hopefully at the same time.

  12. 12.

    Tokyokie

    September 21, 2014 at 10:49 am

    It’s pretty unusual for somebody to put in 18 years in the military. Most who stay in that long stick it out 2 more years to qualify for a full military retirement. Something’s not right with this guy.

  13. 13.

    glocksman

    September 21, 2014 at 10:50 am

    @Mike J:

    That’s how every gun owner should think, not just law enforcement.
    Shit, even a .22LR fired out of a rifle will travel over a mile.

    A lot of people tend to think of .22’s as toys.
    They’re not.

  14. 14.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    September 21, 2014 at 10:56 am

    Gonzalez spent six years in Iraq with Army Special Forces as a sniper, according to his former stepson, Jerry S. Murphy.

    No wonder he’s mentally unbalanced. It’s a terrible shame what we’re doing to these people. I hope he and others like him get the help they need.

  15. 15.

    cathyx

    September 21, 2014 at 10:58 am

    Why is there a severe staffing shortage in it’s uniform division?

  16. 16.

    Anya

    September 21, 2014 at 11:05 am

    I am totally missing Anne Laurie’s point here. Are you saying no one should be concerned about this breach of security? I detest Jason Chaffetz but he’s making a valid point here. What if POTUS and family are there when the next security breach happens and the guy is armed with a home made bomb instead of a pocket knife? What if this breach of security encourages a white supremacist. What happened was inexcusable and it needs to be fixed.

  17. 17.

    GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)

    September 21, 2014 at 11:21 am

    @Anya:

    The first family doesn’t hang out in the front foyer, and there are lots of SS agents who do.

  18. 18.

    PIGL

    September 21, 2014 at 11:30 am

    From the local paper in the company town

    I see what you did there….

    Got into a card game in a company town

    Devil’s Right Hand.
    Steve Earl.

  19. 19.

    big ole hound

    September 21, 2014 at 11:38 am

    @The Pale Scot: And yet kids are not allowed to carry them. So sad. I have had a small pen knife in my pocket since 1950 sharpened weekly until the blades were almost gone and then replaced. This might be my fifth one in my pocket now.

  20. 20.

    ThresherK

    September 21, 2014 at 11:45 am

    Former agents said they fear the breach may be related to a severe staffing shortage the agency has struggled with in the last year in its Uniform Division

    A federal govt agency understaffed?

    I didn’t know that President Obama had to get Senate approval for every officer in the Secret Service!

    I was shopping for a keychain-sized knife this calendar year. I haven’t been on an airplane, so I don’t know if all TSA agents are with the program, but this is the latest from the TSA on little blades you can bring on a plane.

  21. 21.

    Suffern ACE

    September 21, 2014 at 11:49 am

    @ericblair: the issue is that he was arrested inside the white house. He doesn’t need to be vaporized, but he’s not supposed be inside. The White house is like a armored tank against weapons humans can carry themselves, but those defenses are worthless if someone gets inside.

  22. 22.

    Ruckus

    September 21, 2014 at 11:52 am

    Used to carry a pocket knife, small swiss army, longest blade 1 1/2 inch. Except that I traveled for business. A lot. Always had to remember to remove it before getting to the airport. Didn’t remember about 2 weeks after 9/11 and sailed right through the x ray. About 2 months later I emptied my pockets and there it was. Lost it into the 40 gal trash can full of them. I just quit carrying a pocket knife. Found out that I missed it not at all. It had been a talisman but I had given it a purpose so that I could justify carrying it.

  23. 23.

    Auntienomen

    September 21, 2014 at 12:12 pm

    @anya:

    I suspect this story might have ended differently if the Obamas had been at home. But with them absent the Secret Service can be a little more lenient.

  24. 24.

    Mnemosyne

    September 21, 2014 at 12:15 pm

    This story makes me wonder if the Secret Service is slightly less vigilant when the President and family aren’t actually there — that seems to be when most of these incidents happen.

  25. 25.

    glocksman

    September 21, 2014 at 12:23 pm

    @Ruckus:

    My knife is in the car because it makes it easy to open plastic clamshell packaging.
    Other than that, and use as a bottle opener on occasion, it’s hardly ever used.

  26. 26.

    mb

    September 21, 2014 at 12:24 pm

    OH, FUCK!! THE ATMOSPHERE IS COLLAPSING!!!1!

  27. 27.

    Cervantes

    September 21, 2014 at 12:36 pm

    the kind of people Jason Chaffetz never saw growing up in Utah

    He grew up in Colorado and Arizona; no idea what kind of people he saw there.

    His father used to be married to Kitty Dukakis. He went to BYU for college and was a Democrat there. He even worked for the Dukakis campaign in ’88. He switched parties only in the early 1990s.

  28. 28.

    Kathleen

    September 21, 2014 at 12:43 pm

    @cathyx: I have the same question.

  29. 29.

    rikyrah

    September 21, 2014 at 12:47 pm

    would not have been uncomfortable with ALL of these people being shot.

    they didn’t have to be shot to kill, but they should have been shot.

  30. 30.

    Dave

    September 21, 2014 at 12:56 pm

    Yeah he shouldn’t have made it inside. I am happy though that the people making shoot no shoot decisions at the White House at least seem to be actually mature adults. This guy didn’t need to die and I’m glad he didn’t. And earlier poster has a point that they probably do relax a little when the President isn’t at the White House. I don’t understand the freak out myself.

  31. 31.

    henqiguai

    September 21, 2014 at 1:00 pm

    @rikyrah (#28):

    they didn’t have to be shot to kill, but they should have been shot.

    Sorry, no. Don’t get me wrong; I’m probably blood-thirsty to an extent you might find disturbing. But I was also armed security while in college, in the most violent part of DC during its most violent period in the 60s and 70s. As armed security I was under the authority of the Metro police; one of the things I learned was the shoot to kill rule, and why. Not just not being able to assume that a wounded suspect was no longer a threat, but as the Secret Service stated as one of the reasons no shots were taken against the fence climber, if you miss someone else may be hit. If you hit, and it’s a through-and-through, someone else may be hit. Oh, and trying to hit a non-vital region severely restricts the target areas; which leads to the above concerns.

  32. 32.

    Burnspbesq

    September 21, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    @big ole hound:

    This might be my fifth one in my pocket now.

    On my fourth little Spyderco keychain knife, and I’ve been through at least that many Leatherman Micras. When you fly as much as I used to, you inevitably forget to take them off your keychain before arriving at security a few times. I hope that the TSA morons who ended up with them are putting them to good use.

  33. 33.

    PhilbertDesanex

    September 21, 2014 at 1:17 pm

    @cathyx: For the GOP, that sounds like a feature, not a bug.

  34. 34.

    Mnemosyne

    September 21, 2014 at 1:30 pm

    @henqiguai:

    Not to mention, when you’re in the White House, you’re essentially inside a museum. Who wants to be responsible for shooting a hole through a priceless portrait or piece of furniture?

  35. 35.

    dp

    September 21, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    @ThresherK: I thought they rescinded that rule after howls of protest by the pants-wetters?

  36. 36.

    DTGstl314

    September 21, 2014 at 3:40 pm

    @Anya:

    The odds of someone successfully breaching the White House and getting within 50 feet of the president or any member of the First Family without being intercepted by the Secret Service are pretty close to nil. There’s a reason this guy didn’t make it past the front foyer of the White House, and I’m guessing it involved several very well-armed individuals in suits wearing earpieces tackling the dude to the ground the second he walked through the door. Obviously Gonzalez should not have been able to get as far as he did and whatever failures that allowed it to happen should be remediated, but it’s just not something that demands we all emulate Rep. Chaffetz and starting running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

  37. 37.

    DTGstl314

    September 21, 2014 at 3:55 pm

    @Suffern ACE:

    How so? If the president or any member of the FF had been in or near the front foyer, the guy wouldn’t have made it within 100 feet of the entrance without being taken out by a sniper. What sort of weapon do you think someone could have which would immediately have rendered all the security inside the White House helpless the moment an intruder breached the front door? Any bomb powerful enough to vaporize the White House from the inside would almost certainly also be powerful enough to vaporize it from the outside. It’s not an ordinary residence – the internal walls are extremely fortified and incredibly strong. A small IED, the sort one might be running with when wanting to do harm, might do a hell of a lot of damage to the front entrance hall, but it would be unlikely to cause catastrophic damage in the private residence and surely wouldn’t do a thing to either the East or West wings. We’re talking about what is probably one of the most structurally secure residential buildings on the planet.

  38. 38.

    Tehanu

    September 21, 2014 at 4:18 pm

    @Ultraviolet Thunder:

    No wonder he’s mentally unbalanced. It’s a terrible shame what we’re doing to these people. I hope he and others like him get the help they need.

    What you said, in spades. The Republicans jump for joy at the prospect of sending soldiers to kill, then moan and bitch at having to pay for care for the soldiers who make it back.

  39. 39.

    Kay

    September 21, 2014 at 5:56 pm

    In the 2012 election, a group of us from ‘the rural counties” in Ohio were asked to drive the press vans for President Obama’s motorcade from the Toledo airport to Bowling Green State University.

    This isn’t uncommon- Bush did the same thing, although obviously I wasn’t asked to drive for Bush.

    They check you out ahead of time, driver’s license, criminal record, and then you have to get to the airport 4 hours early because there’s an absolute army of security people and procedure and directions and orders.

    I don’t know how they could keep the President any safer. I thought they were very professional. It’s elaborate, the security. It’s dogs and sheriff’s deputies and logistics and an advance team and a lot of people. I had no idea how much was involved.

  40. 40.

    billb

    September 21, 2014 at 11:46 pm

    You all are making light of a very bad failure. He is now an example for 100 crazies who will try the same thing or worse. The First Family is the heart of our Country, shoot to kill everyone that goes over the fence. Have you seen it , IT is a huge fence, you don’t accidently climb over it.

    Do you really want to live with the horror we lived thru when the SS failed to protect President Kennedy, again.
    NO EXCUSES, fire every one of them, and all of their supervisors, and their boss.

  41. 41.

    mclaren

    September 22, 2014 at 12:33 am

    In what warped demented alternate universe was this trivial incident “serious”?

    Until WWII, the White House fence was a tiny little knee-high thing that served only a decorative purpose. Nobody did anything.

    All this paranoia is destroying us as a country. Mister President, tear that fence down! Go back to the knee-high tiny little thing. Nobody will bother you, Mr. President.

  42. 42.

    DTGstl314

    September 22, 2014 at 5:19 am

    @billb:

    QUOTE: “The First Family is the heart of our Country, shoot to kill everyone that goes over the fence.”

    Wow, that sounds like an awesome kind of country to live in. If you hate yourself.

    Look, I absolutely don’t want any harm to come to the president or his family, but the absurdly draconian security protocol you’re endorsing would probably put the man in even more danger, because it would cast him as someone who is supposed to be viewed by the citizenry as some sort of deified being that we’re supposed to worship. And of course that would bring out countless comparisons to North Korea’s “Dear Leader”, and not just from tea party whackjobs.

    This security screw-up was not nothing, but it also wasn’t the sort of catastrophic crisis that you seem to think it was.

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