White House fence jumper Omar Gonzalez, who breached the walls and eluded Secret Service agents back in September, was sentenced Tuesday to 17 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Gonzalez, a 43-year-old army veteran from Texas, was tackled by Secret Service agents after they found him with a serrated folding knife in the
East Room of the White House, according to USA Today. He had scaled the walls, run past security, made it through an unlocked door, and knocked over an officer. After federal agents searched his parked car nearby, they found it stock-piled with more than 800 rounds of ammunition, two hatchets, and a machete.
Gonzalez claimed that he breached the White House in order to warn President Barack Obama about the atmosphere collapsing.
“I never meant to harm anyone,”
Gonzalez said in court, according to CNN.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty to two charges of unlawful entry and assaulting officers. The three-year supervised release was allowed following a 17-month prison sentence on the special condition that Gonzalez no longer be allowed to have firearms, knives, or machetes. He is also required to undergo a psychological evaluation and grant access to his medical records, due to his history of mental health issues, CNN reported. Gonzalez is also barred from entering the District of Columbia unless it is for a court appearance.
Because of his past military service, Gonzalez’s lawyers argued for leniency in his sentencing in lieu of the two-year sentence prosecutors demanded, according to USA Today.
Judge Rosemary Collyer recommended that Gonzalez serve his sentence in California because his father resides there.
“Mr. Gonzalez I need you to be released in California,” Collyer told the court, according to CNN. “That is where you want to be. I need you to get probation and medical care there.”
Gonzalez’s arrest, along with several other Secret Service security breaches, led to director Julia Pierson’s
resignation from the agency on Oct. 1, Fox News reported.