Man held after climbing bike rack barrier by White House

A man has been detained after jumping over a bike rack barrier by the White House.

The suspect reportedly said he wanted to deliver a letter to someone in Donald Trump's administration, ABC News reported.

The Secret Service was praised by White House press secretary Sean Spicer for taking action during the incident, although he clarified the suspect did not jump the fence - he leaped over a bike rack by the fence of the White House grounds.

He tweeted: "Individual jumped bike rack on Pennsylvania Ave, not ‪@WhiteHouse fence. Great response by ‪@SecretService."

The man is currently being interviewed, with the incident coming weeks after a man was arrested after jumping three fences to end up close to the president's residential compound on 10 March.

In that incident, 26-year-old Jonathan Tran was in the grounds for more than 16 minutes before he was captured. He now faces a maximum jail term of 10 years, the BBC reported.

In an official statement, the Secret Service said that although the investigation "is ongoing, at this time we have conducted in excess of 50 interviews regarding this incident and have reviewed radio transmissions and video footage to conclude the following events transpired".

It added that the intruder did not come inside the White House, where President Donald Trump was staying at that time.