Accused White House intruder dragged from court after ruled incompetent

Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

A member of the U.S. Secret Service stands guard in front of the North Lawn of the White House in Washington October 23, 2014.

The suspect, Dominic Adesanya, 23, of Bel Air, Maryland, was stopped by Secret Service dogs before being arrested on Wednesday. He was reportedly unarmed at the time of his arrest and U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson on Thursday ordered a mental screening for him.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola said during a preliminary hearing that doctors found Adesanya incompetent to stand trial.

'You can't do this to me! Somebody please help me!' screamed Adesanya, struggling to escape from the grip of court marshals after the judge spoke.

'This is a trap! This is a scheme!' he shouted as officials dragged him from the courtroom.

Facciola ordered that Adesanya remain in custody for evaluation and treatment. He is set to appear in court on Dec. 22.

Video showed Secret Service agents surrounding the suspected intruder on the north lawn of the White House, which was put on lockdown for about 90 minutes. The man punched and kicked the Secret Service dogs that stopped him, the video showed.

The two dogs, Hurricane and Jordan, were taken to a veterinarian for injuries sustained during the incident, according to a Secret Service spokesman.

Adesanya cannot be arraigned without being found competent to stand trial. Preliminary federal charges against Adesanya are harming the Secret Service dogs and unlawfully entering the restricted grounds of the White House, both misdemeanors.

Adesanya faces two other misdemeanor charges from earlier incidents charged in a lower court.

His father told a Baltimore television station last week that his son was 'mentally disturbed.'

Last week's incident came about a month after an intruder armed with a knife scaled the White House fence and made it inside the executive mansion. The breach raised questions about security at the complex and spurred the resignation of Secret Service Director Julia Pierson.

(Editing by Ian Simpson and Sandra Maler)