Man who jumped White House fence pleads guilty to felony counts

Man who jumped White House fence pleads guilty to felony counts

The man, an Army veteran who is believed to suffer from PTSD, allegedly wanted to tell the president that the atmosphere was collapsing.

A man who jumped over the White House fence and tired to run into the building armed with a knife has pleaded guilty to two felony charges.

Omar Gonzalez, a 43-year-old Army veteran of the Iraq war who claims to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, reached a plea deal with prosecutors that would put him in jail for 12 to 18 months, with a fine ranging from $3,000 to $30,000, according to wire reports.

Gonzalez remains in jail without bond prior to his sentencing hearing, which will take place on June 8. As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped a second federal count of assaulting an officer, as well as charges for carrying a dangerous weapon in D.C. outside of a home or business. He was also previously charged with unlawful posession of ammunition and of a feeding device capable of using large-capacity ammuniation after authorities found 800 rounds of ammunitions along with a machete and two hatchets in a vehicle parked nearby on Constitution Avenue, according to the report.

The incident happened Sept. 19. Gonzalez made it as far as the White House’s East Room, one of a series of embarrassing breaches for the Secret Service that resulted in a high-profile shakeup of the agency, which is charged with protecting the president. The incidents resulted in Julia Pierson resigning as director of the agency.

Neither President Obama, the first lady, nor his daughters were at home at the time of the breach.

Authorities found a folding knife in his pants pocket when he was arrested. The blade was three and a half inches long.

Gonzalez allegedly told an agent after being arrested that he had rushed the White House because he was concerned the atmosphere was collapsing, and he need to transmit information to Obama, according to court documents as reported by the Associated Press.

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