The September White House intrusion by an Iraq war veteran drew national attention to the Secret Service's seeming inability to protect President Barack Obama, culminating with Secret Service Director Julia Pierson resigning on Wednesday.
But there have been dozens of other odd breaches at the White House over the decades- from one trespasser who snuck in to see a movie with FDR to a painter who threw rocks at another president on the south grounds.
Here's a brief rundown of White House snafus of the last 170 years, as told by The New York Times.
-President John Tyler (yes, he was a president) was walking outside the White House on the south grounds when a drunk painter started pelting rocks at him. Tyler was the first Vice President to be elevated to President following the death of his predecessor in 1841, according to WhiteHouse.gov.
-A man who said his name was "Mr. John Smith" swore he had an appointment and convinced President Theodore Roosevelt to agree to a meeting. Roosevelt, who had no idea who he was, spoke with the man a few moments but later determined he was crazy. "Take this crank out of here," said Roosevelt, who was president from 1901 to 1909. "Smith" turned out to have a pistol in his pocket, according to The NY Times.
-During World War II, an intruder made it into the mansion and snuck in to watch a movie with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The visitor wasn't discovered until the lights came on when the movie ended. Free daylight public access to the White House was banned by the end of the war.
-In one harmless breach, the U.S. Marine Band was performing at President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in the '80s when a man followed the band into the White House. He meandered for 15 minutes before he was found out.
-In 1994, a drunk, unlicensed pilot who was also high on crack cocaine flew a stolen Cessna 150L and crashed it on the South Lawn in the dead of night, according to The NY Times. The pilot did not survive.
-And more recently, a toddler caused a ruckus when he slipped through the fence's iron bars as reporters waited for President Barack Obama.
