The man accused of getting inside the White House after scaling a fence is a veteran who was awarded a medal for his service in Iraq and retired due to disability.
Authorities have identified the intruder from Friday night's (local time) shocking incident as Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, of Copperas Cove, Texas, and the US Army said he had served from 1997 to 2003, when he was discharged, and then again from 2005 to December 2012, when he retired.
The military does not provide details about a soldier's disability due to privacy considerations.
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According to a criminal complaint, Gonzalez told Secret Service agents after his arrest that he was "concerned that the atmosphere was collapsing" and needed to contact the president "so he could get word out to the people."