The man accused of breaching security and making it inside the White House Friday had two previous encounters with Washington, D.C., police and was arrested in Virginia in July and charged with eluding police and possession of a sniper rifle and a sawed-off shotgun.
Police in Wythe County, Va., also said they searched his car and found a map of the area with the White House and the Masonic Temple in Alexandria, Va., separately circled. The map was tucked in a Bible, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney David Mudd.
In that incident, he was charged with improper passing and reckless driving, but those charges were dropped earlier this month during a preliminary hearing in Wythe County General District Court, the Roanoke Times reported.
Omar Jose Gonzales, 42, the man accused of scaling a security fence and sprinting across the White House lawn while unlawfully carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon, appeared in a federal courthouse Monday.
A criminal complaint issued by federal prosecutors late Friday accused Gonzales of carrying a small folding knife with a 3 ½-inch serrated blade with him at the time of arrest. He is charged with unlawfully entering a restricted building or ground while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. The charge is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Magistrate Judge John Facciola Monday ordered that he remain held without bond, pending a detention hearing on Oct. 1.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Mudd told the judge Monday that Gonzales is a risk for flight because they said he did not follow court orders in the Wythe County case.
“We also believe, your honor, he is a danger to the president,” Mudd said.
Mudd recalled a separate incident with the D.C. police Aug. 25 in which Gonzales was stopped walking along the south fence of the White House. Police say he had a hatchet in his rear waistband at the time. Mudd said he allowed police to search his car, which was located on 17th Street and New York Ave.
On that day, police found only two dogs and camping gear but no firearms or ammunition.
Again on Sept. 19, Mudd said Gonzales was detained and gave oral consent to have his car, which was located on Independence Avenue, searched.
On this occasion, Mudd said there was a significant amount of ammunition in the car – more than 800 rounds – along with two hatchets and a machete.
Gonzales, who has been identified as an Army veteran, poses a danger to President Obama because he has a “preoccupation with the White House” and accumulated a significant amount of ammunition in a short time, Mudd argued.
The judge then asked if the defense attorney wanted to have a mental health screening for Gonzales. David Bos, the federal public defender appointed in the case, said he had spoken to his client and that he fully understood the charges so there was no need for such a screening.
