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.
