White house ends lockdown after arrest of woman who drove car into security barrier

[Wilsonandson]

USA TODAY
February 23, 2018

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Secret Service has arrested a woman who authorities say deliberately drove her vehicle into a security barrier near the White House Friday around 3:30 p.m. while President Trump was inside.

The White House was on lockdown for about half an hour. No shots were fired and Trump, who had a news conference planned with Australia Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull, was never in danger, according to the Secret Service.

Turnbull was also in the White House when the lockdown was initiated and left around 4 p.m.

The woman detained by the Secret Service is suspected to have intentionally crashed her vehicle into a barricade along the perimeter of the White House, an official with knowledge of the matter said. The official said the woman has been identified as Jessica Rhea Ford of Tennessee; no charges have yet been filed.

During the lockdown, the Secret Service tweeted frequent updates, including that the vehicle “did not breach the security barrier of the White House complex," that the female driver of the vehicle was “immediately apprehended," and that the white vehicle was jammed up tightly against the fence as officers began examining the car.

Protecting one of the world's most visible has been a constant challenge for the Secret Service.

Last year, the agency enlarged the protective bulwark around the White House complex by closing access to the entire fence-line along the mansion's south lawn in the wake of persistent concerns about intrusions.

In the past three years, according to the agency, there have been about 100 incidents in which people have sought to penetrate the 18-acre White House grounds; 95% of those cases have involved suspects with some history of mental illness or emotional disturbance.

Contributing: Gregory Korte of USA TODAY

kvue.com | White House ends lockdown after arrest of woman who drove car into security barrier

[Wilsonandson]

[misskit]

Woman from La Vergne arrested for crashing car into White House barricade


Jessica Rhea Ford is the registered owner of a van that struck a barrier outside the White House on the afternoon of Feb. 23. She is pictured in a 2006 mugshot from an arrest in Rutherford County. (Photo: Submitted by Rutherford County Sheriff's Office)


A woman from La Vergne was arrested in Washington, D.C., Friday after she smashed her SUV into a barrier in front of the White House.


Photos of the vehicle clearly show Rutherford County plates. The license plate number is for a car registered to Jessica Rhea Ford of La Vergne, according to a clerk at the County Clerk's Office.


A source in Washington confirmed to USA TODAY that Ford, 35, was arrested after the incident.


Ford has a history of convictions in Rutherford and Davidson counties on charges ranging from misuse of 911 to trespassing and violation of probation, according to criminal records.



MORE White House lockdown: Woman from La Vergne, Tennessee arrested

[Klondyke]

^Luckily no terrorist act...

[Wilsonandson]

^Luckily no terrorist act...

Exactly! Very lucky. Could have been a bomb. The lack of security post 911 is shocking!