Accused White House intruder formally indicted

A knife-wielding man accused of entering the White House and running through half the ground floor before being subdued was formally indicted on charges stemming from the incident, the U.S. Secret Service and a federal prosecutor and announced Tuesday.

Omar Gonzalez, 42, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from the security breach on Sept. 19, when the Army veteran made it much further into the White House than the Secret Service previously disclosed.

Gonzalez faces charges of entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. The grand jury Tuesday indicted him for that federal offense, as well as two additional charges -- carrying a dangerous weapon outside a home or place of business, and unlawful possession of ammunition.

The Army says Gonzalez served from 1997 until his discharge in 2003, and again from 2005 to December 2012, when he retired due to disability.

Investigators found more than 800 rounds of ammunition in Gonzalez 's car after the incident, a federal prosecutor said last week. A machete and two hatchets also were found.

On Aug. 25, the Army veteran was stopped while carrying a small hatchet near the fence south of the White House, officials have said. Weeks later, the same officers observed him "for some time" but never intervened. Gonzalez later went over the fence and broke inside the White House.

Facing blistering criticism from Congress, Secret Service Director Julia Pierson acknowledged on Tuesday that her agency failed in its mission of protecting the executive mansion.

"It's unacceptable," Pierson told lawmakers. But her promised review of how the storied but blemished agency carries out its mission of protecting the president - and how it failed to intercept the intruder much earlier - left lawmakers from both parties cold. With key details of the extraordinary intrusion still a mystery 11 days afterward, several lawmakers said the agency should be subjected to an independent inquiry.

"I wish to God you protected the White House like you protected your reputation here today," Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch told Pierson at a hearing.