U.S. Secret Service Police and National Guard members responded to the north side of Lafayette Square on Monday morning after a vehicle crashed onto the sidewalk there, prompting a massive law enforcement presence that resulted in the arrests of two people, according to officials.
Police responded just before 10 a.m. at the intersection of 16th and H streets in Northwest Washington, less than a quarter mile from the White House. The driver of the vehicle that crashed was combative but quickly arrested, according to a statement from a Secret Service spokesperson.
Around that time, a second person jumped a barricade near the northwest corner of the park, and was also quickly arrested, the agency said.
Authorities closed several roads around the park while D.C. police swept the vehicle for explosives. Both incidents remain under investigation.
Footage posted to social media on Monday showed National Guard members and police gathering around a silver sedan with smoke pouring out of its engine. Reporters who were on the White House grounds said online that they were ordered inside as the incident unfolded.
In the video, the driver exits the vehicle and a scuffle ensures, with police ordering the driver to the ground and detaining him after a physical struggle.
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