The White House said Wednesday’s stunt involving a small aircraft landing on the Capitol grounds provides a good learning experience for the Secret Service and Capitol Police.
“I’m confident they will take a careful look at this incident,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday. “It may provide an opportunity for law enforcement agencies, including the Secret Service, to review their policies and take some lessons from it.”
The incident in which a Florida man managed to steer a lightweight gyrocopter above the National Mall onto the U.S. Capitol lawn has raised more questions about the security of the most important federal government buildings.
a 61-year-old Florida mail carrier named Doug HughesThe Secret Service is already under intense scrutiny for a string of security breaches. The man who pulled off the stunt at the Capitol Wednesday and who was immediately arrested, a 61-year-old Florida mail carrier named Doug Hughes, was protesting money in politics and government corruption.
Hughes had blogged extensively about his plans in a post dated September 2013, and the Secret Service has said they visited him at his home afterward. There are also reports that a Tampa Times reporter contacted the Secret Service while the man was in the air to warn them about his plans.
Earnest said the Secret Service has raised “significant doubts” about the notification they received from a reporter.
“What they also said is when they first learned of this individual’s interest in this [stunt] that the Secret Service agents showed up on his doorstep a day later,” he said. “That’s the kind of vigilance you would expect.”
Earlier Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the gyrocopter “apparently literally flew in under the radar,” according to the Associated Press.
He said he’s waiting for the results of an investigation before offering any steps to tighten security around the nation’s capital.
