A driver crashed into a sidewalk sign near Lafayette Park Monday morning before a shoving match broke out with officers, setting off a brief White House lockdown as smoke poured from the car.
The gray sedan jumped the sidewalk just north of Lafayette Park around 10 a.m. and struck a sign, but remained more than a block from the White House gates.
Video posted to social media showed law enforcement surrounding the car as smoke poured from its hood.
Agents coaxed the driver out before a brief shoving match erupted. A female agent shouted, “Get on the ground!” as officers moved in.
“The driver was combative with law enforcement, but was quickly placed under arrest,” the Secret Service said. The bomb squad was called as a precaution, and the White House lockdown lasted about 20 minutes.
Uniformed agents led the handcuffed driver down Pennsylvania Avenue as he shouted, “oh my God!” His identity was not immediately released.
A second man was arrested near Lafayette Park around the same time after jumping a barricade near the park’s northwest corner, according to the Secret Service.
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“Around the same time, a second individual jumped a barricade near the northwest corner of Lafayette Park. That individual was also quickly placed under arrest.” The agency said the man was detained quickly.
A law enforcement source said the man never reached the White House or its security fence. Both incidents occurred about a block from the executive mansion. Authorities said it was unclear whether they were connected, and the Secret Service was investigating both.
The back-to-back arrests came only days after Secret Service officers detained another man near the White House who allegedly had three firearms and dozens of rounds of ammunition inside a stolen vehicle.
The Department of Homeland Security identified that suspect as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos.
He allegedly told Secret Service officers that he heard voices in his head directing him to assassinate President Donald Trump.
Officers learned the vehicle had been reported stolen, DHS said. Chrinos allegedly admitted there were weapons inside. A search turned up three firearms, including a rifle, along with dozens of rounds of ammunition.
Chrinos was arrested on three counts each of unlawful transportation of a firearm, carrying unregistered firearms and carrying unregistered ammunition.
He also faced single counts of possession of certain dangerous weapons, carrying a pistol without a license, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, theft and receiving stolen property, according to DHS.
DHS said Chrinos had been released at the Texas border in March 2024 under what it described as the Biden administration’s catch-and-release policy.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran praised the officers who handled the arrest.
“This is the latest example of Secret Service personnel relying on extensive training and experience to deescalate a volatile situation that posed an imminent threat to our protectees and other Americans,” Curran said.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also credited the officers.
“Thanks to our brave Secret Service officers, this illegal alien with three firearms in his vehicle was arrested near the White House before he could harm anyone,” Mullin said.
Another man was arrested earlier in the month after allegedly making a finger-gun gesture at a National Guard member near the White House.
The 28-year-old suspect, William Clark, allegedly pointed his hand toward a van being driven by a uniformed guard member along the Ellipse.
An arrest affidavit described it as “a shooting gesture with a finger gun” toward the van. The guard member and nearby troops detained Clark until Metropolitan Police officers arrived.
Police initially arrested Clark for “threats in a menacing manner and assault on a police officer,” according to the affidavit.
A Tuesday court filing listed only a misdemeanor charge of “assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner,” and did not identify any separate charges for assaulting a law enforcement officer.
The misdemeanor carries a maximum punishment of 180 days in jail or a $1,000 fine under District of Columbia law.
National Guard members had also come under actual gunfire in Washington in October while trying to break up a fight.
The shooting happened around ten minutes after 11 p.m. in the 400 block of 8th Street SE. Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said seven or eight guard members were monitoring a group of people on the sidewalk when a fight broke out.
The troops had been watching the group from their vehicles before stepping out to intervene.
The troops got out of their vehicles to intervene and “heard gunshots” as they approached. Police said one of the people involved in the fight opened fire, prompting Guard members to order the person to drop the weapon. The armed person instead pointed the gun toward the Guard members, according to Carroll.
“That individual then pointed the weapon toward National Guard members, who returned fire,” Carroll said.
Three guard members fired their weapons, striking the suspected gunman in the abdomen. One guard member was shot in the leg during the confrontation.
Both the wounded guard member and the suspected shooter were hospitalized with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
Carroll said investigators had not determined which guard member fired the round that struck the suspected gunman, whose identity was not released.
