White House fence jumper to be sentenced in US court

Gonzalez's attorney says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is undergoing mental health treatment

WASHINGTON: A US Army veteran who burst into the White House with a knife in September is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Tuesday.

Omar Gonzalez, 43, of Cooperas Cove, Texas, pleaded guilty to charges that he climbed over the White House fence, pushed past a Secret Service agent guarding a door and entered the executive mansion.

The high-profile breach played a part in a shake-up of Secret Service leadership. Judge Rosemary Collyer will sentence Gonzalez in US District Court at 10am.

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Gonzalez's attorney, federal public defender David Bos, is seeking a sentence of time served for the nine months he has been held in jail, followed by three years of supervised release.

Bos has argued that Gonzalez is a first-time offender and an Iraq War veteran. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is undergoing mental health treatment, he has said.

Federal prosecutors want a 21-month sentence. They say Gonzalez needlessly endangered White House occupants and Secret Service officers.

Gonzalez was carrying a folding knife when he was arrested inside the White House. He told a Secret Service agent that he needed to tell President Barack Obama that the atmosphere was collapsing.

Police discovered ammunition, a machete, knives and weapons accessories in his truck. The Obamas were not in the White House when the incident occurred.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty in March to entering a restricted building while carrying a deadly weapon and assaulting a Secret Service agent.