The Washington Post (11/16, A1, Murphy, Wilber) reports in a front-page story, "A Falls Church man
who worked as a federal informant on terrorism set himself on fire in front of the White House yesterday, hours after announcing his suicide attempt and citing his growing despondency over how the FBI managed his case. Mohamed Alanssi, 52, approached the northwest guardhouse on Pennsylvania Avenue about 2:05 p.m. and asked the security detail to deliver a note to President Bush. When uniformed Secret Service officers turned him away, he stepped about 15 feet from the guard post and used a lighter to ignite his jacket, according to the U.S. Park Police. Secret Service officers wrestled him to the ground and doused the flames with fire extinguishers. Alanssi was taken to Washington Hospital Center, where he was listed in critical condition with burns over about 30 percent of his body, authorities said." The Post notes that yesterday morning, Alanssi "informed the newspaper by faxed letter and by telephone that he was going to 'burn my body at unexpected place.' ... In two telephone conversations yesterday, Alanssi told a Post reporter that he would provide 10 minutes' notice of his suicide attempt and that only then would he reveal the location. When he called a third time, Alanssi said he had poured gasoline and would be setting himself on fire in two minutes, not 10, and it would take place near the White House. The newspaper informed D.C. police, who notified the special operations unit and the U.S. Park Police, which has jurisdiction over Lafayette Square." The Post adds, "Alanssi said that he went to the FBI in New York shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and offered information on alleged financers of al Qaeda working in Yemen. He said he quickly became a major informant for the FBI, on occasion traveling to Yemen to gather intelligence."
The Washington Times (11/16, Miller) reports that "Secret Service agents quickly put out the flames" coming off of Alanssi, "and other personnel confiscated the man's items, witnesses said. 'He was fully involved in flames, but within seconds, the Secret Service showed up and put him out,' said Jim Clarke, of Burke, who saw the incident while walking his dog along Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. ... 'If he is alive, he owes it to the Secret Service,' Mr. Clarke said. White House doctors joined uniformed Secret Service personnel in administering first aid until emergency technicians arrived."
CBS Evening News (11/15, story 5, :20, Rather) reported, "Outside the White House today, an unidentified man set fire to himself near a Secret Service post. It happened by the White House fence facing Pennsylvania Avenue, which reopened to pedestrians just a few days ago for the first time in over a year. The man was seriously burned. Bystanders overheard him saying 'Allah,' but his motive was not immediately clear."
In Separate Incident, Man Scales White House Fence. The Washington Times (11/16, Miller) also reports, "A man set himself on fire and another jumped the fence in separate incidents on the north side of the White House yesterday afternoon." The Times notes that "at about 5:15 pm" a "man scaled the fence at the north gate and landed on the front lawn of the White House. Uniformed Secret Service agents quickly apprehended the man and took him away in handcuffs. The man, who appeared to be in his late 20s, had long black hair that was tied back in a pony tail. He was dressed in black and had been loitering near the White House grounds when the other set himself on fire three hours earlier."
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)
