WASHINGTON: A man draped in an American flag jumped over the fence of the White House while President Barack Obama was inside with his family celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday, officials and US media said.

He was quickly stopped by Secret Service agents after breaching a barricade and jumping over the fence on the North Lawn that was recently refitted with seven-inch spikes to make it harder to vault over.

In a statement, the Secret Service named the man as Joseph Caputo: “Caputo was immediately apprehended and taken into custody. Criminal charges are pending at this time”.

Secret Service officers had their guns drawn and were accompanied by K-9 units, according to two CNN photojournalists who saw the incident, which triggered a lockdown at the presidential mansion.

The United States, and major US cities in particular, are on heightened alert after the Paris terror attacks, but Obama stressed on Wednesday that there was no specific threat to the US.

Caputo was carrying an envelope, wore a blue shirt and white pants, and was cloaked in an American flag, the CNN journalists said.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2015