White House briefly on lockdown after drone incident
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was put on lockdown Thursday afternoon when a man reportedly attempted to fly a remote-controlled drone over the White House fence, a senior official told ABC News.
The man, whose identity has not yet been revealed, was detained by Secret Service agents for questioning. According to a federal law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, it was not immediately clear whether the man was simply using the aerial device to take photos or actually aiming it at the White House.
President Barack Obama is at Camp David and was absent for the commotion. Still, ABC News reports, the White House was briefly locked down and the traffic outside on Pennsylvania Avenue stopped while the Secret Service investigated.
Thursday's incident is the second this year involving a drone at the White House. In January, a drone crashed on the White House lawn after the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency employee who had been flying the unmanned aircraft around downtown D.C. lost control of it. The 3 a.m. crash startled Secret Service agents, but was it was ultimately determined to be an accident and its clumsy pilot was absolved of criminal charges.
