White House gate crashers return to the scene

Infamous party crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi may not have finagled their way into Wednesday’s state dinner, but they didn’t exactly steer clear of the event either.

The Virginia socialites were riding in a stretch limousine that was stopped by a uniformed Secret Service officer near the White House about 8 p.m., Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said Thursday. The incident occurred as President Obama was toasting Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the White House’s second state dinner.

Donovan said the vehicle ran a red light just southeast of the White House, signaled a turn into a restricted area near the Ellipse and was pulled over a few blocks away.

“The driver was issued a notice of infraction for passing through a red light, and all the subjects in the vehicle were released,” Donovan said in a statement.

The Salahis first made headlines in November when they got past security and attended a portion of a state dinner for the prime minister of India, even though they were not on the guest list. The couple shook hands with the president and got a picture taken with Vice President Joe Biden at a pre-dinner reception. They posted the photo on Facebook.

The incident led to a congressional hearing on presidential security and much embarrassment for the White House. Social Secretary Desiree Rogers eventually resigned. The Salahis initially said they believed they had been invited to the party. They later invoked the 5th Amendment at the House hearing and have since remained quiet on the matter. They could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The couple, as well as an unidentified man, remain under criminal investigation for crashing the first state dinner, Channing Phillips, spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said last week.

In the meantime, the Salahis are reportedly starring in the upcoming Bravo reality series “The Real Housewives of D.C.,” which they were auditioning for in November.

The show promises to feature women “who have their finger on the pulse of the most important cultural events, political galas, gallery openings and fundraisers in Washington society,” according to the show’s promotional material. A call to its production company, Half Yard Productions, was not immediately returned.

kathleen.hennessey@latimes.com