Self-styled patriot who jumped White House fence pleads guilty to trespassing

A workers installs security spikes to the fence in front of the north lawn of the White House in an effort to deter potential climbers. A Connecticut man who climbed this very fence on Nov. 26, 2015, pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor federal trespassing charge and faces a year in prison. He will be sentenced Dec. 6. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) — A Connecticut resident who hopped the security fence at the White House last fall pleaded guilty to a federal charge of trespassing on Monday.

Joseph A. Caputo was captured by U.S. Secret Service agents on Nov. 26 last year after he climbed a fence on the north end of the presidential residence.

Caputo, 23, later told arresting agents that he was a patriot and intended for his stunt to bring attention to domestic issues and national security.

“I love my country,” he told the Secret Service, which is charged with White House security. “I knew I would be locked up.”

At the time of his arrest, Caputo carried a copy of the U.S. Constitution in his pocket , wore shoes adorned with stars and stripes and was draped in a large American flag.

Initially, Caputo’s attorney tried to have the case dismissed by arguing that the Connecticut man was only expressing his rightful free speech.

U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper, though, scoffed at the claim, emphasizing that the First Amendment grants absolutely no right to express free speech in heavily restricted and non-public places.

As part of a plea agreement, Caputo on Monday pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor federal charge of entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

The maximum punishment for the offense is a year in prison. Caputo will be sentenced Dec. 6.

“At sentencing, the government has agreed to recommend that the Court impose a period of probation, during which Caputo would be subject to various conditions, including an order to stay away from the District of Columbia and any facilities, sites or people under Secret Service protection,” the Justice Department said in a statement Monday. “And an agreement to submit to interviews by the Secret Service and undergo a psychiatric evaluation, if requested, by a Secret Service psychologist.”

Caputo climbed the White House fence just five months after the Secret Service had additional security measures installed on the fences that surround the grounds. The agency is now considering increasing the height of the fences around the White House to 12 feet — five inches taller than they presently stand.

 

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