Breaking News: A man who made a verbal threat against President Bush and left a suspicious package outside the White House fence line was arrested and taken into custody Monday by the Secret Service, Reuters reported.
The area just outside the White House was closed to the public immediately, Reuters reported. Uniformed agents cleared media crews from the North Lawn and the media stake-out area inside the West Wing, and closed down Lafayette Park. A heavy police presence was reported on the scene.
"We had an individual arrested for making a threat against the president on the fence line," Malcolm Wiley, a spokesman for the Secret Service, told Reuters. "He left behind a suspicious package," he said.
The man was described as being in his forties, balding and wearing a brown leather jacket, FOX News reported. He was arrested around 1:50 p.m., according to the Secret Service.
Witnesses on the scene described seeing a man being placed inside a police car on Pennsylvania Ave. and being questioned. No further details about the suspect or the charges filed against him were available.
FOX News' Mike Emmanuel contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.
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