Global Courant 2023-05-23 11:55:18
A driver was detained Monday night after a truck crashed into security barriers near the White House, officials said.
The white U-Haul box truck crashed into the barriers on the north side of Lafayette Square, at 16th Street, just before 10 p.m. ET.
The Secret Service said the incident, which occurred just a few hundred yards from the White House, may have been deliberate.
“There were no injuries to Secret Service or White House personnel and the cause and manner of the crash are still being investigated,” Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service communications chief, said in a statement Monday night.
Guglielmi said in a later statement on Twitter that the truck was deemed safe by the Washington DC Police Department and that “preliminary investigations indicate the driver may have intentionally hit the safety barriers.”
The United States Park Police will file charges with investigative support from the Secret Service, Guglielmi said.
A U-Haul truck is hauled away from Lafayette Park across from the White House. Nathan Howard/Reuters via Redux
The Reuters news agency published an image of a Nazi-style red flag with a swastika on it lying on the floor next to the van. Reuters, citing its own photographer at the scene, reported that this and other evidence apparently taken from the truck were placed on the sidewalk and then seized by officers.
Authorities have not commented on the flag. NBC News has contacted the Secret Service for comment.
Video footage later showed a robot opening the back of the truck, which appeared to be empty.
A spokesperson for the nearby Hay Adams hotel told NBC News that guests were told to evacuate the building, but were allowed back in at 1 a.m. ET Tuesday morning.
The exact whereabouts of President Joe Biden at the time of the incident were unclear. He had met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the White House on Monday night to discuss the debt limit.
