The new White House fence, which will be put in place in 2022, is thought to have been successfully breached by a youngster when it crawled over the barrier.
On Tuesday, April 18, a toddler outside the White House in Washington, DC, caused a commotion by slipping past the metal barrier, leading members of the US Secret Service Uniformed Division to traverse the executive mansion’s North Lawn to catch the child.
While the police sought to deliver the toddler to his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue, access to the complex’s public areas was briefly blocked.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said officers “encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House grounds”.
“The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers, and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited,” he said in a statement.
The National Park Service constructed a new fence in front of the White House in 2022, replacing the two-metre-tall (6.6-foot) fence with a nearly four-metre (13-foot) one.
The National Park Service said “the new fence incorporates anti-climb and intrusion detection technology and is designed to mitigate current and future security threats”.
Though the new fence is taller, it has an additional inch of space between pickets, for a total of 14cm (5.5 inches) between posts — just enough clearance for a pint-sized baby to slip through.