Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Released from Custody -- Stamford Man Who Jumped White House Fence
The 22-year-old man must wear an electronic monitoring device; ordered to stay out of Washington, DC.
Updated: 5:30 p.m.
The Stamford man accused of climbing over the White House fence on Thanksgiving while wearing an American flag has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of illegal entry on restricted grounds on Monday.
Find out what's happening in Stamfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Joseph Caputo, 22, of Stamford, is accused of jumping over the fence on the north lawn of the White House Thursday afternoon, while President Obama was celebrating the holiday inside the White House.
Caputo was released from custody by Magistrate Judge Alan Kay who ordered him be placed under the supervision of the U.S. pretrial services agency, wear an electronic monitor and undergo a mental health evaluation. He also was ordered to stay away from D.C. except for meetings with his attorney and court appearances, according to a WUSA9 report.
Find out what's happening in Stamfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Original story: 1 p.m.
The lawyer for the Stamford man accused of hopping the fence at the White House on Thanksgiving, says his client was trying to deliver a “rewritten Constitution” to President Obama.
Obama was celebrating Thanksgiving with his family when Joseph Caputo, 22, of Morgan Street, Stamford, was carrying a binder with his version of the Constitution when he scaled the spiked fence, his attorney Stephan Seeger said. Seeger said Caputo was seeking changes in education, the Judiciary and the legal system.
Seeger said Caputo, who was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and return to court on Monday, wanted to deliver a message of change, according to The Hartford Courant. Caputo was arrested immediately after he jumped the fence on an illegal entry onto restricted grounds charge.
Seeger also denied reports that Caputo was suicidal.
Patch profiled Joseph Caputo in 2011, who was then a senior at Naugatuck High School. Caputo told Patch he didn’t like people to know he was diagnosed with Asperger’s as he thought it would hold him back. While he was told he couldn’t do things normal kids could do, he always met up to the challenges.
The Courant story can be found here.
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