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Army veteran gets 17 months for White House intrusion

A Secret Service member watches as tourists visit the White House on Sept. 30, 2014. On Tuesday, Army Veteran Omar Gonzalez was sentenced to 17 months for his White House intrusion.

A Secret Service member watches as tourists visit the White House on Sept. 30, 2014. On Tuesday, Army Veteran Omar Gonzalez was sentenced to 17 months for his White House intrusion.

(Mark Wilson / Getty Images)
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An Army veteran who got over a White House fence and inside the executive mansion before being stopped has been sentenced to 17 months.

Judge Rosemary M. Collyer sentenced Omar Gonzalez on Tuesday in federal court in Washington. Collyer recommended that he be transferred to a prison in California, where his father lives, before release. Prosecutors asked that Gonzalez spend nearly two years in prison, but Gonzalez’s lawyer argued that he deserves leniency because of his Army service.

Gonzalez has been in jail since his arrest in September. His attorney and government lawyers have said he has a history of mental health issues.

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Gonzalez’s arrest was one of several Secret Service security breaches that ultimately led to Julia Pierson’s resignation as director of the agency.

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