WASHINGTON — An Ohio man has been charged with crashing his unoccupied Jeep near a White House Secret Service guard booth.
Joseph Reel of Kettering, Ohio, has been charged with destruction of government property and was ordered held without bond Tuesday.
According to a federal court charging document, Reel rigged his Jeep so it crashed into a light post, bike rack and security bollard near the guard post around 3 a.m. Sunday. It caused more than $1,000 worth of damage.
The document says that Reel was seen on a bicycle after the crash and was stopped in a courtyard of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. He told officials he wanted to spray paint a "don't tread on me snake" nearby. An email to Reel's attorney was not immediately returned Tuesday evening.
