White House on lockdown over `suspicious activity`

WASHINGTON: A suspect was in custody on Friday after an area near the White House was closed due to "suspicious activity," the US Secret Service said on Twitter.

The agency said its uniformed officers had responded, and Lafayette Park and a fence line on the north side of the White House remained closed off to the public.

Metropolitan Police spokeswoman Margarita Mikhayloza said by phone a suspicious package had been cleared. 

A Secret Service spokesman was not immediately available to comment.