A man drove up to a White House check point shortly after 11 p.m. on Motzoei Shabbos and told a Secret Service officer that “there’s a bomb in the trunk,” authorities said.
As he was being pulled to the ground by a uniformed Secret Service officer, the man allegedly said, according to a D.C. police report, “this is a test.”
The man was taken into custody and his vehicle was searched. There was no indication that anything was found.
The police said Sean Patrick Keoughan, 29, of Roanoke, Virginia, was charged with false bomb threats, as well as unauthorized use of a vehicle.
According to the report, the car was reported stolen in Roanoke.
The incident occurred at the vehicle check point at 15th and E Streets NW. It does not give access to the White House grounds, but only authorized vehicles are permitted to pass.
The security incident was the second of the day at the White House.
In the earlier one, a man was spotted about 12:40 p.m. in a prohibited area on the sidewalk in front of the North Lawn of the White House, according to a D.C. police report.
The man was behind an auxiliary security barrier that stands in front of the fence that encloses the White House grounds. The auxiliary barrier is about 40 inches tall and resembles a bicycle rack.
The man behind the barrier was “yelling nonsensical statements,” a uniformed Secret Service officer said, according to the D.C. police report.
Police said Sunday night that William Bryant Rawlinson, 58, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was arrested on a charge of unlawful entry.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Martin Weil
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