– ‘Danger to president’ –
“Mr Gonzalez’s preoccupation with the White House and accumulation of a large amount of ammunition… renders him a danger to the president,” Mudd told Judge John Facciola, who set October 1 for a detention hearing.
Gonzalez was assigned a public defender to represent him, but an offer of a mental health assessment was declined.
Earlier Monday, as the Secret Service reviewed its security practices, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama had been repeatedly briefed on Friday’s incident.
“His family lives in the White House, and so he is obviously concerned by the incident that occurred on Friday evening,” he said.
“At the same time, the president continues to have complete confidence in the professionals at the Secret Service.”
Obama, who had set off for a family weekend at his Camp David retreat in Maryland shortly before the incident, later said that he thought the Secret Service did “a great job.”
“I am grateful for all the sacrifices they make on my behalf, and on my family’s behalf,” he told reporters.
Earnest said the review by the elite presidential protection branch would test the feasibility of what he called the “positioning of tactical and non-tactical assets inside and outside the fence line.”
It would also look at Secret Service staffing, procedures, and physical and technical security enhancements, he said.
The drama has whipped up intense media and public interest, prompting Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to warn against jumping to premature conclusions.
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