RantCrush Top 5: March 13, 2017

On Friday night, a man carrying two cans of mace and a letter to the president, claiming that he had important information on Russian hackers, managed to jump the White House fence and come within a few steps of the building. The suspect is 26-year-old Jonathan Tuan-Anh Tran from California. He said, “I am a friend of the president. I have an appointment.” He also told officers that he has previously been “called schizophrenic.”

This is the first security breach of the White House since Trump took office, but it’s unclear how Tran managed to avoid tripping the alarms and walk almost 600 feet into the grounds before being spotted. He has been charged with entering restricted grounds while carrying a dangerous weapon. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Trump has kept pretty quiet about the incident but called Tran a “troubled person” on Saturday.

White House fence jumper Jonathan Tran today inside District Court. In jail until Federal court date on Monday . Court Artist:Bill Hennessy pic.twitter.com/3cpWF3IKAZ

— Scott Taylor ABC 7 (@ScottTaylorTV) March 12, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.