The north grounds of the White House were on lockdown for hours Friday afternoon after a man apparently set his jacket on fire near the north gate.
The Secret Service said on Twitter that the man, who was in “an electronic wheelchair-type scooter,” lit his jacket shortly before 3 p.m. while sitting on Pennsylvania Avenue near the north fence. Secret Service officers put the fire out and took him to Lafayette Park, from which he was driven away in an ambulance.
The Secret Service said he had “what appears to be non-life-threatening injuries.”
Pennsylvania Avenue was closed to pedestrian traffic until shortly after 8 p.m. when the lockdown was lifted. 17th Street Northwest has also been closed to vehicle traffic between H and G streets.
HAPPENING NOW: @SecretService just apprehended man who tried to set himself on fire outside @WhiteHouse agent tells us pic.twitter.com/GvPYEZ8Cnm
— Mark Irons (@MarkIronsMedia) April 12, 2019
WTOP’s Rick Massimo and Will Vitka contributed to this report.
