The federal Commission of Fine Arts has given its preliminary approval for a taller White House fence to better protect the presidential mansion after a rash of fence-hopping incidents.
The commission on Thursday voted to approve an 11-foot-7-inch barrier surrounding the White House facility after a presentation by the U.S. Secret Service and the National Park Service. The new fence would replace the current 7-foot barrier.
The new fence “incorporates anti-climb and intrusion detection technology, while respecting the historical significance and visitor experience at the White House and President’s Park,” the Secret Service and Park Service said in a joint statement.
The commission, an independent federal agency charged with reviewing design and aesthetics at federal facilities, among other things, will still need to sign off on the final design, which will be refined and finalized in the coming months. The Secret Service and the Park Service hope to begin construction on the new White House fence by 2018.
A set of temporary barriers have been placed around the White House since last year to keep visitors away from the current White House fence after a number of security incidents showed that it could be easily scaled. The temporary barricades prevent tourists and visitors from approaching the fence itself.
In one notable incident in 2014, a man named Omar Gonzalez managed to get into the East Room before he was stopped by Secret Service. A number of other security breaches in the following weeks and months led officials to put the temporary security measures in place and work on strengthening security for the complex.
The first phase of the fence replacement will address the White House fence. The second phase will replace fencing around the neighboring Treasury Building and Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The public park north of the White House remains one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city, with often featuring large crowds congregating for photographs and sightseeing.
white house, treasury building, and “ike the kike” eisenhower executive office building; I can’t think of too many criminal places that need higher fences or even better, a MOAB.
*** The new fence “incorporates anti-climb and intrusion detection technology… ***
It didn’t have intrusion detection capability already? LOL
When thet replace the fence, save us some money and omit any and all gates. Make sure the C in C is there at the time.
He needs to feel as vulnerable as the rest of us
I say tear down all barriers , no fences , no gates , no walls , no security
I hope the fence is facing inward. I dont want that monkey faced bastard escaping and spending all our taxpayer money on any more of his useless family vacations.
They are having to increase the security to keep the traitor scum inside the fence alive! Imagine the actual cost to keep this trash breathing , all paid for with your tax dollars, even the luxury vacations the same trash goes on!
They wouldn’t need a new higher fence if the Secret Service would stop staging all those break-ins just to secure more funding for their entertainments budget.
Coke and hookers are expensive, especially in DC.
You’d think the CIA would give the SS a discount on the coke, but apparently that is not the case.
This fence is higher than the one that’s protecting our borders
“Tyranny is defined as that which is legal for the government but illegal for the citizenry.”
-Thomas Jefferson
The fence is not to keep people out but to keep the monkeys in.