White House intruder identified as Army veteran

Frontpage ^ | 9/21/14 | josh lederman - associated press

[Nachum]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man accused of getting inside the White House after scaling a fence is a veteran who was awarded a medal for his service in Iraq and retired due to disability, the Army said Sunday.

Authorities have identified the intruder from Friday night's shocking incident as Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, of Copperas Cove, Texas, and the Army said he had served from 1997 to 2003, when he was discharged, and then again from 2005 to December 2012, when he retired.

The military does not provide details about a soldier's disability due to privacy considerations.

The Secret Service tightened security outside the White House after the embarrassing breach in which the intruder carrying a knife climbed the fence, ran across the lawn and entered the building before agents stopped him.

The first family was away from the White House at the time.

Increased surveillance and more officer patrols are among the measures that Secret Service Director Julia Pierson ordered. She also began an investigation into what went wrong.

A member of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday that it was astonishing, at a time of concerns about terrorist attacks, that "someone could actually get into the White House without being stopped."

[COBOL2Java]

C'mon, major media! It's been two days already and you haven't found his Tea Party ID card? Sheesh!

[Domangart]

Did he kill the car?

[huldah1776]

Another article;

http://www.stripes.com/white-house-intruder-is-an-army-vet-with-ptsd-family-says-1.304233

[5thGenTexan]

When will the introspection on what they did to cause him to act out this way begin?

[Bettyprob]

You know, there used to not be a fence around the White House, and anyone could enter anytime they wanted, and request a meeting with the President.

This was also the same time that the President had zero bodyguards (Lincoln was the first, because of the War Between the States).

So why is it that everyone acts as though a President today wouldn't last without a million Secret Service agents, and whatnot? Are people more insane/violent today than they were in the 1800s?

[Nachum]

Are people more insane/violent today than they were in the 1800s?

Maybe. But then, our government has managed to insult a lot of people over time...

[jsanders2001]

> The first family was away from the White House at the time.

Lights are off, nobody is at home in the White House these days.

Air Force 1 and Air Force 2 are either away on family vacations, to golf courses, or campaign trails these days..

[Don Corleone]

Someone’s head will roll.

[Vermont Lt]

If a group to terrorists really wanted to take down the White House they could do it. Taking out the President would be difficult. But if you are in a group that is determined, and you have no sense of survival... You could do some damage.

[RedStateRocker]

Hey, I complained about every airport and road being shout down for a President Bush visit here one time and you would have thought I was calling for the mans assassination.

[depressed in 06]

The first family was away from the White House at the time.

Duh!

[zot]

Thanks for the ping.

[hadaclueonce]

The dude was in the military during Bush’s watch.

This would never have happened if the chosen one was in office.

/s

[Fred Hayek]

Veterans are potential terrorist in 10...9...8...7...

[clearcarbon]

"White House intruder identified as Army veteran."