New Video Shows How Secret Service Stopped Potential Attack Outside White House
Prosecutors played surveillance video in court this week.
— -- The “only thing” that stopped a Pennsylvania man allegedly bent on gunning down people at the White House last month “was a gunshot to his chest” by a Secret Service agent.
That’s the assessment of a federal judge after prosecutors played surveillance video in court this week showing exactly what led the Secret Service agent to open fire on Jessie Olivieri last month.
On May 20, Olivieri left his home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and drove his white Toyota Camry to a park near the White House, according to U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey.
After apparently firing one shot there, Olivieri approached the White House, passing through a security gate on the perimeter of the White House grounds and ignoring Secret Service officers’ orders to stop, Harvey noted.
When Olivieri reached an inner gate, another Secret Service agent confronted him.
“The agent, standing behind the gate and in [Olivieri’s] path, ordered [him] to halt and drop the gun. He did neither, even seeming to wave off the commands with the hand not holding the gun. Moments later, the agent shot him in the chest,” Harvey wrote in a court document filed today and based on the video, which was obtained by ABC News.
Authorities said Olivieri later told authorities, “I came here to shoot people,” and that he went to the White House looking to commit “suicide by police.”
His “actions endangered not only himself and the officers, but also the community, since innocent citizens may have been caught in crossfire between Defendant and the officers,” Harvey said in today's filing, ruling that Olivieri must stay behind bars pending trial.
In his ruling, Harvey indicated he believes Olivieri may suffer from mental illness.
Olivieri now stands charged with forcibly resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer in the execution of his duties with a dangerous weapon, and “attempting and conspiring to do the same.” If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Olivieri's attorney did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.