Man arrested over ‘explosives claim’ at White House
A 33-year-old man has been arrested in Washington DC after the Secret Service said he approached one of its uniformed officers near the White House and claimed to have “dropped explosives” in the area.
The incident prompted officials to put the White House on lockdown for several minutes and close nearby streets to pedestrians.
Man charged w/ felony threats after alleging he "dropped explosives" along Penn Ave. https://t.co/pmxCz9KG2s
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) November 3, 2017
The Secret Service said a sweep of the area did not turn up any explosives.
Ervin Pettaway, of Washington DC, was taken into custody and charged with one count of felony threats.
The incident began at 9.24am, 19 minutes after President Donald Trump departed the White House on Marine One to begin his trip to Asia.
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We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
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