Woman with loaded gun and letter for Biden arrested near White House
Biden was not inside the White House at the time of the incident, and no one was ever in danger.
An armed 66-year-old woman was arrested by Secret Service agents near the White House on Saturday after claiming she had a handwritten letter for President Joe Biden.
Police said the woman, identified as Sylvia Hall, and her male companion pulled up to a checkpoint in downtown D.C. and told Secret Service agents they had a special delivery for Biden, WRC-TV reported. This quickly led to a search of their vehicle, per TMZ, where D.C. Metro Police discovered a loaded handgun. The unnamed man was in possession of a BB gun.
One person said “they were there to meet with the President of the United States and had a letter to deliver to him,” police said. According to TMZ, Hall was that person.
“One of the individuals disclosed the possession of a weapon and was immediately detained,” said a Secret Service spokesperson, “and the second individual disclosed the location of an additional weapon in a vehicle nearby.”
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Hall was arrested and charged for possession of an unregistered firearm, while the unidentified man was arrested for possession of a BB gun, according to the report.
The Secret Service is said to now be handling the case.
Biden was not inside the White House at the time of the incident, as he reportedly left for Camp David in Maryland on Friday.
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Secret Service officials maintained that “during the course of the encounter and subsequent arrests, the individuals posed no immediate danger to any Secret Service protectee.”
Hall’s arrest came the day before President Biden — on the third anniversary of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — called on Congress to “enact common-sense gun law reforms” that would end “our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer.”
The Parkland shooting spree left 17 people dead and led to calls for major gun reform.
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“Today, I am calling on Congress to enact common-sense gun law reforms,” Biden said, “including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets. We owe it to all those we’ve lost and to all those left behind to grieve to make a change. The time to act is now.”
The incident with Hall is similar to the Jan. 16 arrest of a Virginia man who rolled up to a Washington D.C. checkpoint with fake inauguration credentials, a loaded firearm and a slew of ammunition. A day later, a woman was reportedly arrested after pretending to be a member of Biden’s cabinet.
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