White House on Lockdown: Secret Service Clear Suspicious Package Left on Pennsylvania Ave

The White House and its surrounding area on June 19, 2019. Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

The Secret Service took a man into custody who dropped a backpack and attempted to jump a bike rack along the sidewalk on Pennsylvania Ave at 2:45 p.m. on June 19.

Law enforcement cordoned off the area and pedestrian traffic was closed along Pennsylvania Ave. between 15th and 17th streets, including Lafayette Park.

The bike rack area lay about 15 feet away from the actual White House fence.

Various White House correspondents shared updates about a lockdown on their Twitter pages.

The Secret Service and Washington Police Department cleared away the backpack, according to a tweet posted almost an hour after the lockdown.

Secret service personnel were photographed taking positions behind trees on the North Lawn of the premises and the press was cleared from the area, according to messages on Twitter by CBS correspondent Mark Knoller.

President Trump was not in the White House at the time of the incident. He was traveling back to the capital from Florida, where he launched his 2020 re-election campaign on Tuesday.

The West Wing Reports’ Twitter account, which is run by speaker and author Paul Brandus, wrote on Twitter: “Secret Service not commenting yet on situation. President is returning from Miami at this hour.”