US Secret Service officials expected to face discipline

At least six Secret Service employees are expected to face discipline over a security breach in which a man gained entry to White House grounds, a media report said.

On the evening of March 10, 26-year-old Jonathan Tran managed to jump multiple fences and was on White House grounds for more than 16 minutes before he was apprehended beneath President Donald Trump's bedroom windows. Trump was in the White House at the time.

A Secret Service official told CNN said the employees facing discipline include officers from the uniformed division as well as special agents.

The official said the Secret Service's Office of Professional Responsibility is expected to recommend specific discipline for each employee involved within the next two weeks.

Those recommendations will then be turned over to the agency's Office of Integrity to make a final determination.

Previously, the Secret Service said there were "lapses in security protocols" that allowed the fence jumping incident to occur and said immediate steps had been taken to fix them, the CNN report said.

The steps included additional officers at posts, technology enhancements and additional response.

Tran, was found carrying two cans of mace and a letter for Trump. He was released on his own personal recognizance on the condition he be fitted with a GPS tracking device.

He was allowed to go back to California but has to remain within 100 miles of his home in San Jose, stay away from the White House and remain in the US.

In a latest incident, a man drove up to the White House last week saying he had a bomb, and another man jumped over a bike rack in front of the White House.

--IANS

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