Child slips through fence surrounding White House

A small child was able to slip through the north fence outside the White House on Wednesday.

The little boy was subsequently retrieved by the Secret Service and returned to his family.

The incident occurred at around 6:30 p.m. Secret Service Uniformed Division personnel “quickly reunited the child with their parents without incident,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said on social media.

A video taken by a Gray Television journalist and quote-posted by Mr. Guglielmi on X shows one officer carrying the little boy and handing him over to another officer.

A kid squeezed through the fence on the north lawn of the White House. Secret Service has retrieved him and brought him back to his parents. pic.twitter.com/42jpG1tF5w

— Tyler Smith (@tyler5mith) March 26, 2025

The fences at the White House were upgraded to be 13 feet tall in recent years, but also got wider to compensate for the loss of view created by the extra height. An inch was added between posts, creating a 5 1/2 inch gap, enough for a toddler to squeeze through, according to The Associated Press.

Wednesday’s incident is not the first time a toddler has gotten onto the White House grounds. In April 2023, another child managed to get through the north fence.

His parents were briefly questioned by Secret Service agents and then the family left without further incident.