ALICIA A. CALDWELL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secret Service Director Julia Pierson says the front door to the White House now locks automatically in a security breach.

Pierson told a House panel that the switch to automatic locks at the White House’s north door was made after an Army veteran jumped the fence on Sept. 19 and made his way into the interior of the building through two unlocked doors.

Pierson told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Tuesday that a Secret Service agent was attempting to lock one of the doors manually when the intruder, Omar Gonzalez, knocked the agent down. Officials say Gonzalez then ran into the White House before he was tackled near the Green Room and was later discovered to be carrying a knife.

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