A vehicle crashed into Lafayette Square Park just north of the White House on Monday morning, prompting a temporary lockdown at the executive mansion.
A bomb squad was later seen examining the vehicle as law enforcement carried out additional security measures.
President Donald Trump was at the White House, although he had not appeared publicly during the day.
At about 10:00 a.m. ET, the Secret Service instructed most reporters inside the White House complex to move indoors and remain there.
Video recorded by Martin Austermuhle of The Washington Sun shortly afterward showed a vehicle had struck a sign in Lafayette Square, directly north of the White House.
The footage showed the driver exiting the smoking car and confronting federal officers.
The suspect appeared to throw punches at Secret Service agents and National Guard personnel, who were checking on the driver after the crash.
It was not immediately clear whether the crash was deliberate. The driver became combative as law enforcement officers approached the vehicle.
‘Just before 10:00 a.m., Secret Service Police and National Guard responded to the north side of Lafayette Park at 16th Street and H Street, NW, where a vehicle crashed onto the sidewalk,’ a Secret Service spokesperson told Our News Outlet.
‘The driver was combative with law enforcement, but was quickly placed under arrest.’
A bomb squad examined the vehicle as law enforcement carried out additional security measures
A vehicle crashed into Lafayette Square Park north of the White House on Monday morning, prompting a temporary lockdown
A Secret Service agent directed reporters inside the White House during the temporary lockdown
A vehicle that drove into the north-facing pillars near Lafayette Square stood with its trunk open outside the White House in Washington, DC, on November 9, 2026
The Metropolitan Police Department’s explosive ordnance disposal team was called in to search the vehicle as a precaution, the spokesperson said.
The driver was not the only person taken into custody, according to the Secret Service.
‘Around the same time, a second individual jumped a barricade near the northwest corner of Lafayette Park,’ the spokesperson said. ‘That individual was also quickly placed under arrest. Both incidents are under investigation.’
Roads around Lafayette Park were subsequently closed as authorities investigated both incidents.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. ET, Secret Service agents allowed White House reporters to leave the West Wing and return to their television tents outside.
The crash was the latest in a series of security incidents reported near the White House this year.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service arrested a Venezuelan national who authorities said was in the country illegally, possessed multiple guns and threatened to kill the president.
Authorities approached the suspect after observing what they described as suspicious behavior. They discovered that the vehicle he was driving had been stolen and contained several weapons, including a rifle and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Trump was at the White House at the time.
Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, a Venezuelan national authorities said was in the country illegally, was arrested outside the White House last week after officers observed what they described as suspicious behavior. He allegedly threatened to kill President Donald Trump
Authorities found the firearms in the vehicle Chrinos allegedly stole
In May, Nasire Best, 21, opened fire outside the White House and exchanged gunfire with Secret Service personnel.
Best was reportedly shot and killed after witnesses saw him pacing along 17th Street Northwest shortly before he drew a revolver.
He approached a Secret Service booth, pulled a weapon from his bag and fired multiple rounds.
The White House was immediately placed on lockdown because President Donald Trump was inside. He was not injured.
After the incident, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Best ‘had a violent history and possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure.’
