Man arrested after making bomb threat to White House

A man is facing charges after he made a bomb threat, alleging that he "dropped explosives" along the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue near Lafayette Square and the White House.

In a statement, the United States Secret Service stated, "Ervin Pettaway, 33, of Washington, D.C., was charged with one count of felony threats."

The incident unfolded at 9:24 a.m. (local time), when a Secret Service officer patrolling in the area was told by a man that he had put explosives there.

The man identified as Ervin Pettaway was immediately taken into custody by the officer and all pedestrian and vehicular traffic was cleared from the area, the statement added.

The area was checked and a phone was found, which the officials said, was dropped by Pettaway.

No explosives were detected and the lockdown on the White House for a brief period was lifted at 10:23 a.m, the statement further said.