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Armed man with assault conviction shared lift with Obama | Armed man with assault conviction shared lift with Obama |
(about 2 hours later) | |
President Barack Obama rode in a lift with an armed security contractor who had assault convictions, in another security lapse. | President Barack Obama rode in a lift with an armed security contractor who had assault convictions, in another security lapse. |
It happened on 16 September when Mr Obama visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. | It happened on 16 September when Mr Obama visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. |
The incident came to light on Tuesday, hours after the boss of the Secret Service was grilled by Congress about a security breach at the White House. | The incident came to light on Tuesday, hours after the boss of the Secret Service was grilled by Congress about a security breach at the White House. |
A Secret Service official confirmed the incident but declined to comment. | A Secret Service official confirmed the incident but declined to comment. |
The incident contravened a protocol that only members of the Secret Service are allowed to carry weapons in the presence of the president. | |
Tuesday's revelations led to calls from one senior US congressman for a "top-to-bottom" review of the agency. | |
The gun was found when the man was questioned by agents after taking a video of the president in the lift. | |
He was immediately sacked by his supervisors, who arrived on the scene shortly after the incident, reports said. | |
A supervisor asked the man to hand over his gun, surprising the Secret Service team who had not known he was armed. | |
The Washington Post said the man had three convictions for assault and battery. | The Washington Post said the man had three convictions for assault and battery. |
"This person was within arm's length of the president with a gun," said Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was told of the incident by a whistleblower. | "This person was within arm's length of the president with a gun," said Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was told of the incident by a whistleblower. |
It will come as another embarrassment on the day after the director of the US Secret Service, Julia Pierson, took responsibility before a hostile House oversight committee hearing for an "unacceptable" security breach at the presidential residence. | |
Omar Gonzalez, 42, scaled a fence at the White House, ran across the lawn, entered an unlocked door, entered the East Room and was eventually tackled inside. | Omar Gonzalez, 42, scaled a fence at the White House, ran across the lawn, entered an unlocked door, entered the East Room and was eventually tackled inside. |
That incident came after a previous security scare in 2011, when a lone gunman fired shots at the White House. | |
The following year three Secret Service agents were sent home from a presidential trip to Amsterdam after they were caught drinking. | |
On Wednesday Republican congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the House of Representatives committee with oversight of the agency, called for a comprehensive review. | |
"This latest episode adds to the growing list of failures from an agency plagued by operational challenges, cultural problems and reporting difficulties," he said. |