White House placed on lockdown over unattended package

by Jordan Fabian - 08/22/17 1:33 PM ET

The White House was placed on lockdown on Tuesday due to an unattended package, the Secret Service said.

Agents cleared the White House’s North Lawn about 1:15 p.m. and sent journalists and construction workers on the grounds into the West Wing.

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Lafayette Square, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, was also closed to pedestrians.

A Secret Service spokesperson said the agency was investigating an unattended package near the north fence. The agency later tweeted that it had cleared the package.

@SecretService and @DCPoliceDept have cleared the unattended package near the north fence line of the @WhiteHouse Complex

— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) August 22, 2017

President Trump was not at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. He was en route to Arizona for a tour of a Border Patrol facility and campaign-style rally.

Lockdowns at the White House have become a somewhat common occurrence in recent months due to an uptick in suspicious packages and fence-jumping attempts.

Updated: 2:32 p.m.

Tags White House