By Ed Diokno
Views from the Edge
Jonathan Tuan-Ahn Tran, 26 was arrested late Friday night for trying to enter the White House.
Tran, from Milpitas, California, scaled a fence and was able to get near the South Portico entrance before being apprehended. He told Secret Service agents that he was a friend of Mr. Trump and had an appointment with him.
Tran also had two cans of mace on him as well as a laptop, a U.S. passport, one of Trump’s books and a letter. The letter mentioned “Russian hackers,” according to court documents. It also said that he was schizophrenic and that his phone and email had been hacked.
The California man was charged with entering or remaining in restricted grounds while using or carrying a dangerous weapon, and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman Bill Miller told the Washington Post.
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Brian Tran, the suspect’s brother, told CNN that the suspect had graduated from San Jose State University with an engineering degree and had recently been laid off from his job. Losing the job had “troubled” his older brother and that Jonathan Tran “living in his car and eating junk food,” Brian Tran told CNN.
Jonathan Tran told a Secret Service officer that he has “been called schizophrenic,” according to the criminal complaint. The document also listed the items carried by Tran: the Mace, in his jacket pocket, as well as a book bag with a book on Trump, a U.S. passport and an Apple laptop.
“Secret Service did a fantastic job last night,” Trump said Saturday from his golf club in Northern Virginia.
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