White House fence jumper faces K-9 assault charges

USPA News - A man from Maryland who jumped over a fence in front of the White House on Wednesday is facing felony charges for kicking two Secret Service dogs and making unspecified threats, federal authorities said on Thursday. Both dogs are doing OK. The incident occurred at around 7:16 p.m. local time on Wednesday when 23-year-old Dominic Adesanya, of Bel Air in Maryland, climbed over a fence on the north side of the White House complex in Washington, D.C. He could be seen kicking a Secret Service dog before being jumped by another dog, which with he struggled before being taken into custody by officers.

Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said Adesanya was charged on Thursday with two felony counts of assault on a police officer, one felony count of making threats, and four misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and unlawful entry. The assault charges are in connection with Adesanya`s kicking of the dogs. Adesanya was taken to a local hospital for evaluation after Wednesday`s incident but was later released and handed over to the U.S. Marshals Service for previous outstanding warrants. The two Secret Service dogs - Hurricane and Jordan - were taken to a veterinarian and were treated for minor bruising. "Both K-9s were cleared for duty by the veterinarian," Donovan said. The White House was briefly placed on lockdown and Lafayette Square - which is a public park directly across the president`s residence - was shut down as a precaution after Adesanya, who was not armed, climbed over the fence. His reason for getting into the North Lawn was not immediately known. Wednesday`s incident came just over a month after 42-year-old Omar Gonzalez climbed over the same fence and ran towards the front of the White House, which he then entered through the North Portico doors. Gonzalez was arrested inside the White House and was found to be carrying a folding knife in his pocket and had hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his vehicle. The failure of officers to stop Gonzalez from entering the White House led to the resignation of Secret Service Director Julia Pierson.