Two people were arrested near the White House on Monday after a car crashed on to the pavement at Lafayette Park and another person jumped a security barrier, prompting a brief lockdown.
The first incident took place shortly before 10am near the junction of 16th Street and H Street NW, on the north side of the park. Secret Service police and National Guard personnel responded after the vehicle came to rest on the pavement.
The driver was described by the Secret Service as combative with officers and was quickly detained. Smoke was seen coming from the vehicle as law enforcement surrounded it.
Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police Department sent its Explosive Ordnance Disposal team to search the car as a precaution. The vehicle was declared safe and roads around Lafayette Park were temporarily closed.
Around the same time, a second person jumped a barricade near the north-west corner of the park and was also arrested by officers.
The incidents led authorities to order pedestrians and visitors away from the area, while reporters inside the White House complex were temporarily moved indoors. The lockdown was later lifted.
President Donald Trump was at the White House when the arrests took place, according to reports.
The Secret Service said both incidents remained under investigation. The identities of those arrested, the charges they may face and whether the two events were connected had not been disclosed.
