Alarm switched off because it was 'noisy' allowed knife-wielding White House intruder to run amok

A man who breached security at the White House earlier this month got further than administration officials had previously admitted, the Washington Post has revealed.

An anonymous Secret Service official told the paper that an alarm at the front entrance to the White House had been muted at the request of the ushers' Office and this allowed the intruder to run amok over much of the main floor before being apprehended.

The ushers had requested that the alarm, known as a "crash box" be muted because it was too noisy, according to the source.

Omar Gonzalez, who jumped the fence onto the front lawn and barrelled in through the front door of the world's most famous residence, was carrying a knife at the time.

Gonzalez had more than 800 rounds of ammo, two axes and a machete in his car at the time, according to prosecutors.

He was previously arrested in July carrying a sniper rifle and a map of the White House.

He made it through the front door of the White House, across the central hall and into the ornate East Room before being tackled by Secret Service Agents, the Post's source said.