Omar Gonzalez, 43, of Copperas Cove, Texas, was sentenced
today to 17 months in prison on charges stemming from an incident in which he
climbed a fence and ran toward and into the White House while armed with a
folding knife.
The sentencing was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent
H. Cohen, Jr. for the District of Columbia and Acting Special Agent in Charge
James M. Murray of the Washington Field Office for the U.S. Secret Service.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty on March 13, 2015, in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia to two federal offenses: one count
of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds, while carrying a
deadly or dangerous weapon and one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding
certain officers or employees. He was
sentenced by the Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer.
Upon completion of his prison term, Gonzalez will be placed on three
years of supervised release.
Judge Collyer also prohibited Gonzalez from entering the
District of Columbia for the duration of his supervision, except for court
appearances and meetings with his attorney.
He also will be required to participate in a psychiatric evaluation and
cooperate fully with the Secret Service in any assessments they deem necessary
to make of Gonzalez’s risk.
“Mr. Gonzalez is now paying the price for his foolish
decision to jump the fence and run inside the White House,” said Acting U.S.
Attorney Cohen. “When he finishes his
prison term, he will be barred from entering the District of Columbia and must
receive psychiatric treatment. The
prison sentence imposed by the court should deter others from taking actions
that needlessly put the First Family and White House employees at risk.”
According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 19, 2014,
at about 7:19 p.m., Gonzalez climbed over the north fence of the White
House. While he was climbing over the
fence, officers with the U.S. Secret Service’s Uniformed Division ran towards
him and repeatedly yelled at him to stop and get down. Gonzalez, however, ignored the commands and
landed on the north grounds of the White House.
Moments later, after ignoring additional, repeated commands
from uniformed officers to stop, Gonzalez went through the north doors of the
White House, knocking a uniformed officer backwards. Another uniformed officer then tackled him
inside the White House.
Gonzalez was searched and a folding knife, with a serrated
blade that was over three and one-half inches long, was discovered in his right
front pants pocket. After his arrest, he
gave oral consent to search his vehicle, located on Constitution Avenue
NW. The vehicle contained hundreds of
rounds of ammunition, in boxes and in magazines, hatchets and a machete.
Gonzalez has been in custody since his arrest on Sept. 19,
2014.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Mudd and Thomas A.
Gillice of the National Security Section for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
District of Columbia.
No comments:
Post a Comment