Fence Jumper Was Arrested at White House in July, Too

Dad says he's got mental health problems but isn't dangerous
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 23, 2014 4:31 PM CDT
Fence Jumper Was Arrested at White House in July, Too
Secret Service respond on the North Lawn of the White House after a man jumped the White House fence Wednesday.   (Jacquelyn Martin)

The latest person to climb over the White House fence had the paranoid belief he was being watched by cameras and had previously been arrested at the executive mansion, his father said. Dominic Adesanya, of Bel Air, Maryland, was ordered held without bond in an appearance today before a federal magistrate judge. Wearing blue prison garb, he resisted being taken away and started talking as two deputy marshals removed him from the courtroom. Adesanya, 23, has been charged with two federal offenses: unlawfully entering the restricted grounds of the White House and harming two law enforcement dogs that were released to take him down. (They're OK, reports the New York Times.)

Adesanya had previously been arrested at the White House on July 27 and ordered to undergo mental health screening. Court records from that arrest show he told an officer that he wanted cameras that had been placed in his home removed. He also told an officer that the security barrier he jumped over "was easy and that the next fence to the south grounds of the White House would not be a problem as well." He was apprehended again on July 30 after he refused to leave the Treasury building, which is next to the White House, and swung his fists at officers. His father, Victor Adesanya, said in a telephone interview that his son has been experiencing mental health problems for over a year, but he refused the help the family tried to get for him. (More White House stories.)

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