Driver in custody after hitting White House gate with car, Secret Service says

A car crashed into an exterior gate on the White House complex just before 6 p.m. Monday, a Secret Service spokesman said.

The driver was taken into custody and the Secret Service is investigating the "cause and manner of the collision," said Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service.

President Biden was in South Carolina for a campaign event earlier Monday before traveling to Dallas that evening.

Traffic was impacted near 15th St. and Pennsylvania Ave., but closures were lifted after the vehicle was cleared around 7:30 p.m. by Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department.

Pictures from the scene show what appear to be a silver Cadillac Escalade with Virginia plates.

Officials have not yet released any identifying information about the driver and it was not immediately clear if there would be any charges.

The Secret Service said in a statement to USA TODAY that while it is "premature to speculate as to whether this was an intentional act," there is currently no risk to the White House complex or the adjacent neighborhood.

U-Haul crash near White House:19-year-old accused in U-Haul crash near White House had Nazi flag, planned to 'seize power'

Other recent car crashes involving White House, President Biden

This is not the first time a driver has rammed a vehicle into security barriers outside the White House.

In May 2023, a Missouri man with a Nazi flag planned for months to "seize power" and kill the president before authorities say he crashed a U-Haul truck into security barriers near the White House.

Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, of Chesterfield, Missouri, told Secret Service agents he flew to Washington from a St. Louis suburb on a one-way ticket after six months of planning.

He wanted to "get to the White House, seize power and be put in charge of the nation," according to court documents. He also said he would "kill the president, if that's what I have to do," documents say.

In December 2023, a car plowed into a parked SUV that was shielding President Biden's motorcade while the president and first lady were exiting his campaign headquarters in Delaware. The driver was later charged with drunken driving.

Neither the president nor the first lady was injured.

Contributing: Michael Collins and Christine Fernando, USA TODAY