A cordon has been put in place while authorities investigate.
The US Secret Service tweeted: “Uniformed Division Officers responding to a suspicious package near Madison & Penn. Ave. Vehicle and pedestrian traffic may be impacted.”
A Secret Service agent told local media: “This is a bigger situation than normal.”
Reporters waiting for the daily briefing were told to clear the North Lawn and stay indoors.
Two individuals were detained yesterday after a man threw “a sign and a notebook” over the White House fence on Pennsylvania Avenue, according to the Secret Service.
The items were later declared “non-hazardous”.
More to follow…