A man who draped himself in the American flag and jumped over the White House fence on Thanksgiving Day last year has taken a plea deal in the case.
Joseph Caputo of Stamford, Connecticut, appeared in federal court in the District of Columbia on Monday. He agreed to plead guilty to knowingly entering a restricted building or grounds. Sentencing is set for Dec. 6.
Caputo was carrying a binder with "a rewritten Constitution" when he scaled the fence. His lawyer argued Caputo's actions were intended to call attention to deficiencies in the Constitution and protected by the First Amendment. A judge disagreed, saying Caputo's arguments "border on frivolous" because there's "no First Amendment right to express one's self in a nonpublic area like the White House."
