A man allegedly drove onto the sidewalk near the White House and demanded to speak with President Trump, setting off a chaotic scene in Washington, D.C.
Around noon Saturday, the driver reportedly maneuvered his vehicle near a security barrier at the corner of 16th and H streets by Lafayette Square, prompting a major law enforcement response.
Metropolitan Police Department officers, military personnel and Secret Service agents quickly converged on the area, The Sun reported.
As officers took him into custody, the man allegedly insisted that he be allowed to speak with President Trump. The driver appeared unaware that Trump was at Camp David on vacation at the time, according to the outlet.
The man was transported to a nearby hospital for a “mental health evaluation,” a Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement to The Post.
Nearby roads were closed “out of an abundance of caution,” the spokesperson said. A search of the vehicle found nothing suspicious.
“We appreciate the swift actions of our Secret Service Police Officers and are grateful for the Metropolitan Police Department for their prompt response,” the Secret Service said.
The incident was the latest in a series of cases involving vehicles approaching the White House security perimeter.
In October 2025, a driver in a gray Acura was arrested after allegedly trying to crash through a security gate outside the White House while President Trump was inside the executive mansion.
Another driver was detained in March after reportedly plowing through a temporary security barricade at Madison Place and H Street Northwest, near Lafayette Park.
Trump has faced numerous assassination attempts that came dangerously close to ending his life both during his presidency and throughout the 2024 campaign.
On April 25, 2026, California schoolteacher Cole Allen, 31, allegedly opened fire one floor above the grand ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was being held.
Allen allegedly struck a Secret Service agent’s bulletproof vest. The agent returned fire but missed, according to the report.
The alleged shooter remains in federal custody while awaiting trial.
Trump also narrowly avoided being shot in the head by Thomas Matthew Crooks during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.
