At least 22 people have been arrested and prosecuted for breaching security at the White House or U.S. Capitol since the beginning of 2014, according to an investigation by the News4 I-Team. The cases include a fast-rising number of White House fence jumpers and people deliberately violating security perimeters on Capitol grounds.
The I-Team’s review reveals the legal system is struggling to prevent the risk of repeat offenders. Almost all of those arrested since 2014 are free from custody, many are undergoing mental health or competency screenings, several have violated court orders to stay away from government buildings, and at least two of them are missing and being sought by law enforcement.
Federal law enforcement agencies do not release official counts or lists of arrests at the White House or Capitol, so the I-Team scoured four years of federal court records to compile an exhaustive list of cases since 2014, some of which were not publicized by authorities. An overwhelming majority of the cases involved men and women who reside far from the metropolitan Washington, D.C., region and made long trips to commit the breaches.
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