When Omar Gonzalez jumped the White House fence on September 19, 2014, he was carrying an impressive arsenal of weapons. Besides the folding knife he had on his person, police searched his vehicle and discovered hundreds of rounds of ammunition, multiple rifles, machetes and tomahawks. In addition, the mentally ill US Army veteran had a map of Washington, D.C. with several government buildings highlighted including the White House. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to charges of entering a restricted building while carrying a deadly weapon this past March.
On Monday, prosecutors asked that Gonzalez be sentenced to 21 months in prison for his actions and weapons with sentencing scheduled for June 15, 2015. Prosecutors have stated in court documents, “The defendant’s actions needlessly endangered White House occupants, Secret Service officers, and civilians in the vicinity of the crime. Moreover, the defendant was aware for years before the crime that he needed treatment to address his PTSD, paranoia, and hallucinations, but did not make sufficient efforts to consistently obtain that treatment.”
But this was not Gonzalez’s first run-in with the law, especially when it came to weapon possession. In July 2014, he pleaded guilty to possessing a sawed-off shotgun and eluding police in Virginia. Also in August 2014, he was stopped by police outside of his home for carrying a hatchet tucked into the rear waistband of his pants. He told police he was using the hatchet for a camping trip and after placing it in his car he was released by police. That particular stop was before his attempt to infiltrate the White House the following September.
