The White House went on lockdown this afternoon just as local and national TV news meteorologists were planning live shots as part of the White House climate change report released earlier today. Security officials closed the gates, cleared the North Lawn, and asked occupants to stay inside the building after they spotted a blue Honda Civic parked near the White House’s front entrance.
I am at the White House & we are on lock-down. Someone drove in behind a motorcade. Driver in custody, just saw dog & officer checking car.
— Ginger Zee (@Ginger_Zee) May 6, 2014
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According to secret service, the driver of the car was a “Treasury Department pass holder” who was not authorized to cross the secure perimeter. The lockdown was lifted after about 15 minutes.
NBC’s Al Roker and ABC meteorologist Ginger Zee (CBS’s morning show does not have a staff weatherperson) along with six meteorologists from local stations sat down with President Obama today for interviews on climate change. But a few also asked about the situation in Nigeria and how far the U.S. is willing to go to help rescue more than 200 schoolgirls being held by terror group Boko Haram.
“We’ve already sent in a team to Nigeria – they’ve accepted our help through a combination of military, law enforcement, and other agencies who are going in,” the president told Zee, adding that the girls’ abduction might be the tipping point to mobilize the international community against Boko Haram.