The United States Secret Service detained an individual after he scaled a fence at the US Treasury building in Washington DC. A bomb squad was called in by the police to examine a ‘suspicious package’ left by the man near the White House.
Authorities secured the vicinity, limiting both pedestrian and vehicle access, while experts from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal team assessed the item placed on the sidewalk outside the perimeter fencing at approximately 2:30 pm on Sunday.
Situated adjacent to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Treasury building was affected during the incident; however, President Donald Trump was not in Washington at the time, as he was in Scotland for a meeting with European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Authorities ultimately concluded that the bag was not an explosive device, a Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement, and the roads were reopened.
The suspect was then charged with unlawful entry and in connection with an outstanding warrant. He was taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation.
It remains unclear what the man’s motivation may have been for scaling the fence to the Treasury building.
But his arrest came just hours after hundreds of protesters gathered outside the White House to protest the blockade of aid to the Gaza Strip, according to the Anadolu Agency.
The group marched from Lafayette Square to the home of the president to demand an end to the blockade and United States support for Israel.
Some even displayed photos of children who have died in Gaza from malnutrition and re-enacted the deaths of Palestinians who were killed seeking food.
A bomb squad was deployed to investigate what authorities have called a ‘suspicious package’ located near the White House
The Secret Service confirmed that the package was located just outside a security perimeter near the executive mansion
Officers cordoned off the area and restricted pedestrian and vehicle traffic as specialists from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit examined the object
Organizer Hazami Barmada explained on Instagram that the protest was designed to push for ‘food for Gaza, for unrestricted aid, for the humanity and dignity of Palestinians to stop being taken away or stripped by Israel.’
She also urged the White House to ‘do its job’ and help end the blockade.
But as the protest raged on, President Trump promised additional U.S. food aid to combat starvation in Gaza.
He also complained that the United States doesn’t get credit for the aid it is providing to the area, and vowed to press other nations to do more.
‘People don’t know this – and we didn’t certainly get any acknowledgement or thank you, but we contributed $60 million to food and supplies and everything else,’ said Trump.
‘We hope the money gets there, because you know, that money gets taken. The food gets taken. We’re going to do more, but we gave a lot of money.’
‘Nobody acknowledged it. Nobody talks about it,’ Trump complained.
‘And it makes you feel a little bad when you do that. And you know, you have other countries not giving anything.’
The scare came just hours after hundreds of protesters gathered outside the White House to protest the blockade of aid to the Gaza Strip
Some of the protesters re-enacted the deaths of Palestinians who were killed seeking food
Organizer Hazami Barmada explained on Instagram that the protest was designed to push for ‘food for Gaza, for unrestricted aid, for the humanity and dignity of Palestinians to stop being taken away or stripped by Israel’
‘The US is going to do more aid for Gaza but we’d like to have other countries participate,’ the president said.
‘It would be nice to have at least a thank you,’ Trump continued.
His remarks came after Israel announced it would provide 10-hour ‘tactical’ pauses to allow food aid deliveries amid the humanitarian crisis and the breakdown in talks for a ceasefire that would free remaining hostages that Hamas took after the October 7 attack on Israel.
It has made other allowances for aid since beginning its attacks following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack inside Israel. But the blockade and difficulty for people to move and access food and medicine has led to reports of widespread hunger.
‘If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly – they would have starved. And it’s not like they’re eating well, but a lot of that food is getting stolen by stolen by Hamas. You know, they’re stealing the food. They’re stealing a lot of things. You ship it in, and they steal it, then they sell it,’ Trump said.
