WASHINGTON – Authorities say a man who took off his clothes and began jogging in near-freezing temperatures near the White House has been taken into custody and hospitalized for a mental evaluation.
The man was seen stripping Wednesday around 5 p.m. He left his clothes near the northeast corner of the Ellipse, the green space south of the White House.
Secret Service spokesman Darrin Blackford says the run lasted less than a minute before the man was apprehended. The president was at the White House at the time. But Blackford says the man, who left his clothing in a duffel bag, didn’t make any threats. His bag was declared suspicious, but its contents were found to be harmless.
Temperatures were around 35 degrees.
It wasn’t clear if the jogger would face criminal charges.
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