White House put into lockdown after man made 'suspicious comments'

A man has been detained by the US Secret Service after he was caught carrying a package and making "suspicious comments" near the White House, sending it into lockdown.

A Secret Service official said the man had approached uniformed officers near 15th and Pennsylvania at around 10:15 am (1.50am AEDT), a block from the White House.

The man was separated from the package and detained in a police vehicle, a security perimeter was established and "the package is now in Secret Service custody," the official said, asking not to be named.

The official added explosives experts were deployed.

Roads around the area were closed as the Secret Service carried out its investigation.

“USSS is investigating a suspicious package,” it tweeted moments after the incident began.

“Security perimeter established and members of the public and media are being moved to a safe distance.”

 https://twitter.com/SecretService/status/846734327794819073

This is the latest in a string of security incidents at the White House and other government buildings over the past few weeks.

On Sunday morning a woman was arrested for scaling a fence at the Treasury building after she did the same at the White House the week before.

With AFP