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White House security boosted

WASHINGTON - The Secret Service chief has stepped up security outside the White House after a man with a knife who jumped the fence made it into the presidential residence before being apprehended, officials said Saturday.

A Secret Service officer holding a weapon near a White House entrance during Friday's evacuation.
A Secret Service officer holding a weapon near a White House entrance during Friday's evacuation.Read moreEVAN VUCCI / Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Secret Service chief has stepped up security outside the White House after a man with a knife who jumped the fence made it into the presidential residence before being apprehended, officials said Saturday.

President Obama insisted he still has confidence in the beleaguered agency's ability to protect him and his family.

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson ordered enhanced officer patrols and surveillance along the North Fence just after the incident Friday evening, which triggered a rare evacuation of the White House as well as renewed scrutiny of the Secret Service. The agency said Pierson had also ordered a review of what happened.

"The president has full confidence in the Secret Service and is grateful to the men and women who day in and day out protect himself, his family, and the White House," said White House spokesman Frank Benenati.

The presidential vote of confidence came as the storied agency sought to dispel growing concerns about security at the White House, one of the most heavily protected buildings in the world. Another man was arrested Saturday outside the White House.

Obama and his daughters had just left the White House by helicopter Friday evening when Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, scaled the fence, darting across the lawn and through the unlocked North Portico doors before officers tackled him, the Secret Service said.

Prosecutors said Gonzalez served three tours in Iraq, and relatives said he was a sniper there, the Washington Post reported.

The agency said in a statement that: "the location of Gonzalez's arrest is not acceptable."

A law enforcement official said Gonzalez had a small folding knife with him at the time of the arrest, and faces a weapons charge. The official wasn't authorized to discuss the investigation and demanded anonymity.

Less than 24 hours after Gonzalez's arrest, a man was apprehended after he drove up to a White House gate and refused to leave, the Secret Service said, prompting bomb technicians to search the vehicle and shut nearby streets. There were no indications the two events were connected.