Two people were arrested near the White House on Monday morning after a vehicle crashed onto the sidewalk at Lafayette Park and, around the same time, another person jumped a barricade.
U.S. Secret Service Police and National Guard responded just before 10 a.m. Eastern to the north side of the park at 16th and H streets NW, less than a quarter-mile from the White House. A Secret Service spokesperson said the driver was combative with law enforcement and was quickly placed under arrest. Officials have not identified either person or released their immigration status, and they have not said the two incidents are connected.
NBC4 Washington, citing a source familiar with the matter, said the driver was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, related to the vehicle, and assault on a police officer, and that the barricade jumper was charged with unlawful entry.
The US Secret Service arrested two people near the White House after one person drove a car onto the sidewalk and another jumped a barricade at Lafayette Park in front of the presidential compound https://t.co/pVUuj74l92
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 9, 2026
The arrests came days after the same agency arrested Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos near the White House — a Venezuelan who entered the United States illegally through Texas in March 2024, was released under the Biden administration, was found with multiple guns in a stolen vehicle, and told agents voices told him to come to Washington and kill President Donald J. Trump. Nothing released Monday ties today’s two people to that case, or identifies them as migrants. It is another incident on the same perimeter, days later.
Around the same time as the crash, a second person jumped a barricade near the northwest corner of the park and was also quickly arrested. An NBC4 Washington source put that jump at Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street. A law-enforcement source briefed on the situation told MS NOW the barricade jumper was a man who never made it close to the White House or its security fence. Both incidents happened one block from the White House, that source said.
MS NOW, describing video shot by Washington Sun reporter Martin Austermuhle, said National Guard and Secret Service surrounded the car and told the man to get out; when he did, he appeared to punch an officer before being subdued. Austermuhle posted: “Unclear what happened but someone just drove into a sign on the north end of Lafayette Square Park and then fought with Secret Service and National Guard when they got out of their car.”
Unclear what happened but someone just drove into a sign on the north end of Lafayette Square Park and then fought with Secret Service and National Guard when they got out of their car. pic.twitter.com/Mwcrk4klQn
— Martin Austermuhle (@maustermuhle) November 9, 2026
D.C. police’s bomb squad swept the vehicle as a precaution. NBC4 Washington said it was determined safe. Roads around Lafayette Park were closed. Reporters inside the White House were told to stay in the briefing room. MS NOW said they were allowed to leave about 20 minutes later; NBC said the lockdown lasted about 30 minutes.
The arrests came about two hours before Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani was set to meet Trump at the White House.
On Thursday evening, November 5, Secret Service officers found Guanipa Chrinos on Constitution Avenue near the White House. The stolen vehicle held an AR-15-style rifle, a Mac-10, a Glock 43X, and dozens of rounds of ammunition. He has been charged with a slate of D.C. gun and stolen-vehicle offenses. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer, and he is in U.S. Marshals custody.
The Secret Service said it is investigating both of Monday’s incidents.
