contractor who had assault convictions, in what appears to be another
security lapse.
It happened on 16 September when Obama visited the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The incident came to light on Tuesday, hours after the boss of the
Secret Service was grilled by Congress about a security breach at the
White House.
A Secret Service official confirmed the incident but declined to comment.
The gun was found when the man was questioned after taking a video in
the lift and was immediately fired by his employers, according to
newspaper reports.
The Washington Post said the man had three convictions for assault and battery.
"This person was within arm's length of the president with a gun,"
said Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was told of the incident by
a whistleblower.
It will come as another embarrassment on the day when the director of
the US Secret Service, Julia Pierson, took responsibility before a
hostile House oversight committee hearing for an "unacceptable"
security breach at the presidential residence.
Omar Gonzalez, 42, scaled a fence at the White House, ran across the
lawn, entered an unlocked door, entered the East Room and was
eventually tackled inside.
No comments:
Post a Comment