Photo by Phil Roeder
Marci Wahl, a 38-year-old woman who failed to jump a White House security fence last week, succeeded in scaling a fence near the Treasury Building early Sunday morning. But Secret Service agents arrested her promptly after responding to an alarm she activated.
Officials apprehended Wahl around 2:15 a.m., according to a Secret Service release. After her arrest, they determined that she was the same woman who tried jump the south fence of the White House grounds last Tuesday, but was found dangling by her shoelaces.
Wahl told police that she was on her way to speak to President Donald Trump, CNN reported. She had a map of the residence, but wasn’t carrying any weapons. She went to court for that incident on Wednesday and was issued a stay away order and released on her own recognizance.
On Friday, police arrested her again for being near Lafayette Park, which violated the order, according to the release. She appeared in court the following day, pleaded not guilty, and was again released on her own recognizance and ordered to come back to court on April 27.
When officials arrested Wahl on Sunday, she was carrying a backpack and sleeping bag among other items, according to the release. Officers checked her belongings and found no hazardous materials or weapons.
Police charged her with unlawful entry and contempt of court.
Earlier this month, Jonathan Tuan Tran scaled two fences and a security gate to get on the White House grounds before he was arrested. Eight days later, another man was arrested after jumping over a bike rack in an attempt to get at the fence and another person was arrested for making a false bomb threat at a Secret Service checkpoint.
Years in the making, officials approved a plan last month for a significantly taller fence. Construction is slated to begin next year.