A man who jumped the fence surrounding the White House grounds earlier this month actually made it all the way to the East Room, The Washington Post reported on Monday, Sept. 29.
Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, overpowered a female Secret Service agent inside the North Portico entrance of the White House.
Gonzalez then ran through the East Room, making it nearly all the way through before he was tackled as he tried to enter the Green Room, a Congressional official said.
Previously journalists were told by Secret Service officials that the man had only reached a few steps inside the North Portico entrance before he was stopped.
It is expected the startling breach in security will be reviewed at a bipartisan hearing with testimony from Secret Service director Julia Pierson on Tuesday.
According to The New York Times, Pierson will be raked over the coals by the panel over what appears to be a possible erosion in the agency’s ability to protect the president and his family.
