Accused White House intruder is decorated Iraq war veteran

The Texas man incriminated of breaking into the White House while armed with a knife is a U.S. military veteran who was embellished for his accommodation in the Iraq war, the U.S. Army verbalized on Sunday.

Omar Gonzalez, 42, is expected to appear in court in Washington on Monday facing a charge of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a pernicious or perilous weapon. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in confinement.

The U.S. Attorney's Office verbally expressed Gonzalez was carrying a folding knife with a 3-1/2-inch-long (9-cm-long) serrated blade when he climbed a fence and made it into the White House on Friday night after President Barack Obama had departed.

According to an affidavit relinquished by prosecutors, Gonzalez told a U.S. Secret Accommodation agent after he was apprehended that "he was concerned that the atmosphere was collapsing and (he) needed to get the information to the President of the United States so that he could get the word out to the people."

The incident was one of the most consequential breaches since Obama became president in 2009 and raised questions about security procedures at the White House, a heavily sentineled intricate filled with Secret Accommodation officers and snipers.

According to the Army, Gonzalez, who had the
rank of sergeant, enlisted in July 1997, listing his home as Puerto Rico, and was discharged in September 2003 after consummating his accommodation obligation. He re-enlisted in 2005 and retired on incapacitation from the Army in 2012.

Gonzalez accommodated in Iraq from October 2006 to January 2008, receiving adornments including an Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars.

During his first enlistment, he accommodated with the 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. Postings during his second enlistment included Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state and Fort Hood.

A second man was apprehended on Saturday for trespassing at the White House after approaching the White House gates on foot, being sent away and then returned in a conveyance, the Secret Accommodation verbalized.

The agency has incremented security around the White House following the security breach and commenced a review of its replication.