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Friday, March 29, 2024

Known White House Jumper Arrested for Ramming Perimeter Barrier

A 35-year-old woman from Tennessee who has a history as a fence-jumper was taken into custody Friday for intentionally driving her vehicle into a metal barrier at the White House perimeter.

The Secret Service said no shots were fired in the 3:30 p.m. incident at 17th and E streets in Washington, and no law enforcement officers were injured. The driver did not breach the White House perimeter, the agency noted. The White House was briefly placed on lockdown; President Trump was hosting Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull inside at the time.

Jessica R. Ford, 35, of La Vergne, Tenn., was taken into custody. She reportedly had a gun in her hand, and is facing weapons charges along with assaulting an officer, unlawful entry and damaging government property.

Her history in D.C. includes trying to jump a security barrier outside the White House last April, trying to climb over the White House fence in May, and violating an order in July to stay away from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Back in her home state, Ford’s priors include misuse of 911, trespassing, driving under the influence, prescription fraud and probation violations. At some point, she was reportedly under psychiatric care.

The Secret Service confirmed that they had “previous encounters with the female in the vicinity of the White House resulting in numerous arrests for a variety of criminal violations.”

Known White House Jumper Arrested for Ramming Perimeter Barrier Homeland Security Today
Bridget Johnson
Bridget Johnson is the Managing Editor for Homeland Security Today. A veteran journalist whose news articles and analyses have run in dozens of news outlets across the globe, Bridget first came to Washington to be online editor and a foreign policy writer at The Hill. Previously she was an editorial board member at the Rocky Mountain News and syndicated nation/world news columnist at the Los Angeles Daily News. Bridget is a terrorism analyst and security consultant with a specialty in online open-source extremist propaganda, incitement, recruitment, and training. She hosts and presents in Homeland Security Today law enforcement training webinars studying a range of counterterrorism topics including conspiracy theory extremism, complex coordinated attacks, critical infrastructure attacks, arson terrorism, drone and venue threats, antisemitism and white supremacists, anti-government extremism, and WMD threats. She is a Senior Risk Analyst for Gate 15 and a private investigator. Bridget is an NPR on-air contributor and has contributed to USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, New York Observer, National Review Online, Politico, New York Daily News, The Jerusalem Post, The Hill, Washington Times, RealClearWorld and more, and has myriad television and radio credits including Al-Jazeera, BBC and SiriusXM.
Bridget Johnson
Bridget Johnson
Bridget Johnson is the Managing Editor for Homeland Security Today. A veteran journalist whose news articles and analyses have run in dozens of news outlets across the globe, Bridget first came to Washington to be online editor and a foreign policy writer at The Hill. Previously she was an editorial board member at the Rocky Mountain News and syndicated nation/world news columnist at the Los Angeles Daily News. Bridget is a terrorism analyst and security consultant with a specialty in online open-source extremist propaganda, incitement, recruitment, and training. She hosts and presents in Homeland Security Today law enforcement training webinars studying a range of counterterrorism topics including conspiracy theory extremism, complex coordinated attacks, critical infrastructure attacks, arson terrorism, drone and venue threats, antisemitism and white supremacists, anti-government extremism, and WMD threats. She is a Senior Risk Analyst for Gate 15 and a private investigator. Bridget is an NPR on-air contributor and has contributed to USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, New York Observer, National Review Online, Politico, New York Daily News, The Jerusalem Post, The Hill, Washington Times, RealClearWorld and more, and has myriad television and radio credits including Al-Jazeera, BBC and SiriusXM.

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