Car trailing Obama daughters' motorcade prompts White House lockdown

Members of the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service investigate an unauthorized vehicle outside the White House gates in Washington May 6, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A car that trailed a motorcade carrying President Barack Obama's daughters on to Pennsylvania Avenue prompted a security lockdown at the White House on Tuesday. A Secret Service spokesman said the car entered the security checkpoint at 17th Street and Pennsylvania and was immediately stopped by Secret Service uniformed officers. The male driver was arrested and Washington police checked the car for explosives. The Secret Service identified the driver as Mathew Evan Goldstein, 55. He was arrested and charged with unlawful entry and was transported to city police for processing. Goldstein was identified as an employee of the Internal Revenue Service. People were unable to leave or enter the White House grounds while the car was being checked out. After more than an hour, the security lockdown was lifted. "Everything at the White House has been cleared," said a Secret Service spokesman. The motorcade was carrying the Obama daughters, Sasha and Malia, according to a source familiar with the situation. Pictures of the car showed it traveled about 50 yards (meters) down Pennsylvania Avenue past the security barrier but it remained outside the main gate of the White House. (Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Sandra Maler)