‘Small drone’ found on White House grounds

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A small drone was found on White House grounds on Monday morning. The Security Service are looking for the perpetrators. President Obama was not at the White house at the time as he and the first lady are currently on a trip to India.

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RT reports: White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed that “a device” has been found. “The early indications are that it does not pose any sort of ongoing threat to anybody at the White House,” he said.

The Secret Service announced that one of the agents saw and heard a two-foot-wide “quadcopter” fly at a low altitude over the premises about 3 am local time.

“There was an immediate alert and lockdown of the complex until the device was examined and cleared,” a Secret Service spokeswoman said in a statement, adding that the investigation is underway “to determine the origin of this commercially available device, motive, and to identify suspects.”

The entire White House perimeter was on lockdown until around 5 am, AP reported. At sunrise, a vast search of the premises was carried out.

An unidentified man informed the Secret Service around 9:30 a.m. on Monday that he had lost control of the drone before it crashed onto the grounds, the agency said in a statement. The UAV operator has been “been fully cooperative” and “initial indications are that this incident occurred as a result of recreational use of the device,” the Secret Service noted.

The man may be a government employee, according to USA Today and other published reports.

The Secret Service may refer the matter to the US Attorney’s Office, a government official told USA Today.