The Obama's Thanksgiving celebrations had to be cut short
after a man draped in the American flag jumped the fence of
the White House.
President Obama and his family were tucking into their
turkey dinner when they were put on lockdown so the Secret
Service could conduct a sweep of the grounds following the
security breach.
CNN reports that Joseph Caputo - who was wearing a
baseball shirt, gloves and the flag as a cape when he
hopped the fence - was immediately taken into custody. He
also appeared to have a binder in between his teeth as he
climbed the metal railings.
Joseph Caputo scaled a fence on the North Lawn at 2:45
p.m., according to Secret Service spokesperson Robert
Hoback. The jumper was immediately apprehended and
taken into custody.
According to two CNN photojournalists who witnessed the
incident, the men was carrying an envelope, had on a blue
shirt and white pants and was cloaked in an American flag.
They said the officers who detained him had their guns
drawn and were accompanied by K-9 units.
Vanessa Pena, an intern on Capitol Hill, was playing tourist
with her twin sister who was in town for Thanksgiving. "We
were just standing there and the man came up behind us,"
she told CNN. "I heard him take a deep breath and say, 'All
right, let's do this.'"
Pena said the man "ran through" she and her sister before
he jumped over a barricade, and then the fence.
Though the White House issued an official "all clear" about
two hours after the episode began, the north and south
fence lines remained temporarily closed Thursday evening.
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