A woman arrested late Tuesday night after she allegedly attempted to gain entry to the White House has been arrested two more times nearby. Police said she has told them she was there to speak to President Donald Trump.
Marci Anderson Wahl, 38, of Everett, Washington, was arrested by the US Secret Service near the south grounds of the US Treasury Building early Sunday, said a Washington Metropolitan Police Department spokesman.
According to the Secret Service, officers responded to an alarm around 2:15 a.m. and reportedly saw Wahl trying to scale a fence. Wahl was arrested without incident, and has been charged with unlawful entry and contempt of court. Once in custody, it was determined that Wahl had been issued a “stay away” order for the White House complex after an incident earlier in the week.
In that incident, on March 21, officers saw Wahl walking and staring at the White House complex before discovering she had jumped a fence on the south side but had gotten stuck. Officers found her hanging from the inside of the fence by her shoelaces, which were “caught on top of the fence,” according to a police report on that incident.
“The individual became entangled in security features affixed to the top of the fence, suspending them in the air on the inside of the fence,” the Secret Service said. Security at the White House was briefly elevated.
Secret Service and Washington Metropolitan Police officers discovered a map of the White House when they arrested Wahl, who did not have a criminal history before these three incidents.
She was charged with unlawful entry and pleaded not guilty in District of Columbia Superior Court on Wednesday, records show. Wahl was released and given a stay away order with an initial status hearing set for April 27. A message left with her attorney after the Wednesday hearing was not returned.
According to a Secret Service spokesperson, Wahl was also arrested Friday evening near Lafayette Park. In that incident, Wahl was charged with contempt of court in violation of a stay away order. Wahl pleaded not guilty on Saturday morning and was again released on her own recognizance.
At the time of her arrest Sunday morning, Wahl was in possession of a backpack, sleeping bag, and other items, which the Secret Service said were swept and cleared by an explosive ordnance disposal team. No hazardous materials or weapons were found. Secret Service personnel also conducted a security sweep of the area before returning to normal operations.
The President was in Washington at the time of all three incidents.