Secret Service Mulls White House Checkpoints Blocks Away

The Secret Service, sporting a new black eye after Omar Gonzalez hopped a White House fence and walked right through the front door, is considering a range of measures to increase security at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Although the agency's director immediately added surveillance and officers around the White House, a law enforcement official tells the AP that the Secret Service is in "preliminary discussions" to do much more. On the table: expanding the White House security perimeter by screening visitors at checkpoints at least a block away from White House gates and barring people from the sidewalks outside the White House fence, the Washington Post reports.

Although these checkpoints will hopefully enhance existing security measures, there are two issues officials have to deal with, the New York Times reports: coordinating the new procedures with a variety of different agencies—including the Secret Service, DC's Metropolitan Police Department, and the US Park Police—and maintaining accessibility at one of DC's most popular tourist attractions. The White House declined to comment, the Post notes. (More White House stories.)