Exclusive: Driver’s Attempt at Breaching Quantico Gate Echoes Deadly Incidents at White House, U.S. Military Bases

Two people inside a box truck tried to force their way onto Quantico Marine Corps Base.

After being pressed by Potomac Local News, base officials today said that in the early morning hours of Friday, May 3, 2024, the two men drove a truck up to the base’s main gate on Fuller Road, just outside Dumfries, told guards that they were contractors for Amazon and were making a delivery to Quantico Town’s post office. The town is located inside the military base.

The men did not provide any approved access credentials, and police determined the vehicle had no affiliation with the base, so officers directed the truck to a holding area for standard vetting procedures. “One of the military police officers noticed the driver, ignoring the direct instructions of the officers, continued to move the vehicle past the holding area and attempted to access…Quantico,” said base spokesman Capt. Micheal Curtis.

Officers then used vehicle denial barriers, or roadblocks that were used to keep out cars, which prevented the two men from traveling further onto the base. The occupants were detained and eventually turned over to ICE, and no one was injured, said Curtis.

Multiple sources report one of the individuals inside the truck is a Jordanian foreign national who recently crossed the southern border into the U.S., and that one of the occupants is on the U.S. terrorist watch list. Quantico did not confirm this information.

Potomac Local News requested more information from ICE, and we’ll update this post as soon as we receive it.

Sources also tell us security on the base has been heightened since the incident, and that a mass email was sent to base personnel urging them to be on high alert.

The Quantico incident mirrors others at military installations across the U.S. and the White House, which have raised concerns about security protocols and the safety of personnel following three separate incidents involving unauthorized vehicle access.

Two days after the incident at Quantico, a vehicle crashed into an outer perimeter gate of the White House in Washington, D.C., resulting in the death of the driver. President Joe Biden, who was away for the weekend in Delaware, was not present during the incident, and the Secret Service confirmed that there was no threat to the White House.

The driver, a male whose identity has not yet been disclosed, was found deceased in the vehicle following the crash, which took place shortly before 10:30 p.m.

The Secret Service promptly enacted security measures, assuring the public that there was no immediate threat to the White House. Both the Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies are actively investigating the incident to determine its cause and any underlying factors.

Tragedy struck at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story in Virginia on Sunday, April 28, when a driver attempted to breach security protocols at the installation’s gate and crashed into a hydraulic barricade. Despite attempts by the base’s fire company to extinguish the resulting fire, the driver succumbed to the crash. According to a public affairs officer, the vehicle disregarded security checks and barreled through the gate at high speed.

On April 3, at Naval Base San Diego, an internal security vehicle triggered chaos at the Norman Scott Gate. The unmarked vehicle, belonging to the base’s security team, breached the gate without stopping, prompting the activation of emergency barricades. The ensuing collision injured three occupants, including two civilian officers and one active-duty military member.

On March 27, 2024, at Twentynine Palms, California, a Chinese national made a brazen attempt to gain access to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. Despite being informed by military police that he lacked authorization, the individual proceeded past gate guards, prompting immediate intervention by law enforcement. The suspect was swiftly detained and transferred to Customs and Border Patrol custody. 

Kelly Sienkowski is a freelance reporter for Potomac Local News. If you’re not getting our FREE email newsletter, you are missing out. Subscribe Now!