Secret Service Agents May Have Drunkenly Crashed Car Near White House

Two Secret Service members may have drunkenly driven a government vehicle into White House barricades last week.

Mark Connolly, who is one of President Obama's top protectors, and George Ogilvie, who is a senior supervisor within the agency's Washington, DC base, are currently being investigated for the incident.

According to the Washington Post, the two agents had just left a bar on March 4, when an investigation began over an unknown package on White House grounds.

Local police officers and Secret Service agents set up barricades and security tape to close off the area.

Connolly and Ogilvie allegedly drove a government car to the scene and showed their badges to get clearance before driving through the tape and hitting the barricades at about 10:30 pm.

Police officers were about to arrest the agents, but their supervisor told them to let the two go home without trouble.

The suspicious package was still being treated as a possible threat at the time.

Numerous security protocols were violated by the agents, including activating the car's flashing lights without a proper reason.

If a civilian drove through a security barrier at the White House, the Post reports, the driver would have been attacked by a guard dog and threatened with gunfire.

The incident is currently being investigated by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security due to the heightened authority of the subjects.

Secret Service agents are typically put on paid administrative leave when faced with alleged misconduct, but the two in question have instead been moved to “non-supervisory, non-operational assignments," according to an agency official.

Agency spokesman Brian Leary said the Secret Service will take "appropriate action based on established rules and regulations" should Connolly and Ogilvie be found guilty of misconduct.

The investigation marks the first security blemish under Joseph P. Clancy, who was named the new director of the Secret Service just last month.

He has promised to reinforce confidence in the agency following a White House break-in and the revelation that an armed convict was allowed in an elevator with the president.

Citations: Secret Service agents investigated after car hits White House barricade (The Washington Post)