Vehicle hits sign near Lafayette Square before driver clashes with security personnel
Members of US Secret Service inspect a vehicle that drove into the north-facing pillars near Lafayette Square stands with a trunk open outside the White House, in Washington, DC, US, November 9, 2026. REUTERS
The US Secret Service arrested two people near the White House on Monday after one person drove a car onto the sidewalk and another jumped a barricade at Lafayette Park in front of the presidential compound.
President Donald Trump was at home during the incidents. The White House was placed on lockdown briefly and roads around the park closed.
A car crashed into the sidewalk that surrounds Lafayette Park just before 10 a.m., a Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement.
“The driver was combative with law enforcement, but was quickly placed under arrest,” it said. “Around the same time, a second individual jumped a barricade near the northwest corner of Lafayette Park. That individual was also quickly placed under arrest.”
Secret Service said both incidents were under investigation.
It was not clear if the two were related.
