We haven't had one of these for a few months, and this one put a unique twist on things when he wrapped himself in the flag before tossing himself over the fence on to the White House lawn while the First Family was enjoying Thanksgiving in the White House.
Joseph Caputo faces criminal charges after he scaled the north fenceof the grounds and was immediately apprehended about 2:45 p.m., said Robert Hoback, a spokesman for the Secret Service. Officials did not provide details on Caputo’s age, home town or any reason for the jumper’s actions.
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Virginia resident Vanessa Peña was visiting the White House with her sister Thursday afternoon when she saw a man behind them take off his sweatshirt and wrap an American flag around himself.
Peña said she then heard him take a deep breath before saying, “All right, let’s do this.”
“Then he just ran through us, jumped over the first barricade and went over the fence,” said Peña, who captured photos of the incident. “Right when he landed, he threw his arms in the air and went to his knees.”
Officers and security dogs quickly swarmed the man, who carried a binder in his mouth as he sailed over the fence, and took him into custody, Peña said. The incident lasted no more than five minutes.
Mr. Caputo apparently left a suicide note before making his way to the White House fence:
According to the documents, the note read, in part, "Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around us who transform into the Force," in an apparent reference to the mythology of the "Star Wars" movies.
Caputo wore the American flag like a cape when he went over the fence, the documents show, and he was carrying a USB flash drive in the shape of a "Captain America" shield. He also carried weightlifting gloves and pocket guide to the Constitution, authorities said. In court on Friday, he wore a white-and-blue baseball-style T-shirt, white pants and sneakers with an American flag pattern.
Caputo ran toward the White House after he scaled the fence, but when Secret Service officers ordered him to stop and get on the ground, he quickly complied, according to the documents. He told the officers, "I love my country" and "I knew I would be locked up," the documents state.
I'm sure glad all this crazy heated fascist rhetoric being tossed around by Republican candidates has no effect on people, aren't you? It couldn't be possible that a guy who was maybe a little unbalanced already might get the silly idea to go out in a blaze of glory atop those spiky fence things they installed after all the fence-jumping last year or anything like that, right?
It doesn't look like the Force was with him.
