National News
Woman Arrested After Driving Car Into White House Barrier
The 35-year-old is said to have had previous encounters with law enforcement around the White House.
A woman was arrested after crashing her Chevrolet minivan into a barrier outside of the White House around 3:30 pm EST on February 23rd. During this event, President Trump was holding a news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and the Secret Service says neither were in any danger. In a statement, the Secret Service said that the woman involved is a 35-year-old from Tennessee who has been arrested for suspicious activity in the vicinity of the White House before. The woman is said to have mental problems, and that she had a gun in her hands, but that it was pointed in the opposite direction of the law enforcement officers during the incident.
Law enforcement also said that the car hit the security barrier intentionally, but that it never breached the grounds of the White House. Also, no shots were fired, and no law enforcement officers were injured during this event. The White House was placed on lockdown for about an hour due to the nature of the events.
The Secret Service also put all buildings in the area of the crash on lockdown, including the main building of the Corcoran School of Arts and Design at George Washington University. The students were told to avoid the area, as the building is located right across the street from where the crash occurred.
The police later identified the driver as Jessica Ford of LaVergne, TN.
A 35 yr old female from Tennessee has been taken into custody for intentionally driving her vehicle into a @WhiteHouse security barricade
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) February 24, 2018
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