A stranger slipped undetected into the home of a White House official

WASHINGTON (AP) — An unknown man managed to slip undetected inside the home of White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, according to two people familiar with the incident. The US Secret Service is investigating.

The door was apparently unlocked and the intruder was able to break into Sullivan’s home around 3 a.m. last month, the sources said. The Secret Service is investigating whether the person entered the house intentionally or was an accident; the person appeared to be intoxicated, the people said. The people were not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Sullivan has 24 hour security. But officers posted outside his home were unaware that the unknown man had gained access inside Washington’s home until the man had already left. Sullivan came out and told them, people said.

Security is always a top concern for senior government officials, but there has been a more palpable sense of anxiety in recent years as threats against lawmakers and officials mount. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked and severely beaten with a hammer by an assailant who broke into the San Francisco couple in October.

There was no evidence that the person wanted to hurt Sullivan or even knew about him. The Washington Post first reported the breach.

Meanwhile, additional security measures have been put in place outside Sullivan’s home as a precaution while an examination is carried out.

The US Secret Service said in a statement that they were “investigating a security incident that occurred at a protected site”.

“Although the beneficiary was not injured, we are taking this matter seriously and have opened a full mission assurance investigation to examine all facets of what happened,” the statement said.

Any deviation from protocol was unacceptable, the Secret Service said.

Some members of President Joe Biden’s administration get a Secret Service security detail, which means their homes are guarded and they receive protection as they move throughout their days outside of the White House ; it depends on a range of factors, including the type of job and whether any threats were made.