Toddler breaches White House fences, quickly scooped by Secret Service

A tiny toddler snuck through the White House fence Tuesday, alerting a swift Secret Service response.

The tot’s family was visiting the landmark when he crawled right through the fence, according to the Secret Service.

Officers “encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House grounds,” spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. “The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited.”

Secret Service agents briefly questioned the parents before they were satisfied and let them go. Access to the White House was temporarily shut down until the president’s protectors realized they were dealing with an infant, not an invasion.

The toddler became the first person to sneak onto White House grounds since authorities raised the fences a few years ago. The new, roughly 13-foot-high fences have successfully kept adult intruders at bay. However, the posts are about five inches farther apart, increasing opportunities for tottering tots.

The fences were raised after a series of embarrassing security breaches in which people scaled the barrier. The old fences were only about 6 feet tall, so people often attempted to scale them, with a somewhat surprising success rate.

However, Tuesday’s security breach was not the first time a toddler triggered an outsized security response. In 2014, a similarly curious youngster sneaked through the fence. He was returned to his parents, who promised to put him in timeout.

With News Wire Services