Jessica Rhea Ford is a woman residing in La Vergne, Tennessee. In February 2018, she was arrested and charged after she intentionally crashed her 2008 Chevrolet Uplander minivan into a security barrier at the White House while armed with a pistol. ^[1] In April 2017, Jessica Ford was arrested and charged after she tried to climb over a crowd control barrier in front of the White House.

Law enforcement sources have said that Jessica Ford is believed to have mental health issues. According to officials, her last known residence in Tennessee was in March of 2012 at a home on McAlpine Avenue in East Nashville.

The last record of her employment was in 2003 when she was listed as a Waitress at Waffle House and Demos' Restaurant in Smyrna, Tennessee.

On Friday, February 23, 2018, Jessica Ford was arrested by the United States Secret Service after she intentionally struck a security gate with her 2008 Chevrolet Uplander while armed with a pistol.

The Secret Service said no law enforcement officers were injured during the incident and no shots were fired.

"The Secret Service has had previous encounters with the female in the vicinity of the White House resulting in numerous arrests for a variety of criminal violations," the Secret Service said in a news release.

"The female was again charged today with numerous criminal violations and transported to the Metropolitan Police Department."

According to the police report, Jessica Ford struck the security barrier at around 2:45 p.m. Afterwards, she still continued to try to accelerate the vehicle as officers eventually pulled her out through the driver's side window and placed her in handcuffs.

It was later determined in the investigation that an officer saw the suspect with a pistol in her hand pointed in the opposite direction of the officers while she was still behind the steering wheel, the police report said.

After she failed to comply with demands to drop the weapon, officers forcibly removed the gun from her.

Ford is facing eight charges that include unlawful entry, carrying a pistol without a license, possession of unregistered firearm, aggravated assault on police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon-car, destruction of government property and contempt of court.

She is scheduled to appear in D.C.

Superior Court Saturday afternoon.

Prior police reports from D.C. also show Ford was arrested three times last year in the area of the White House.

President Donald Trump was at the White House during the incident. The Secret Service said security was not breached in the incident.

Trump praised the agency's handling of the situation in a tweet Friday afternoon: "Thank you to the great men and women of the United States @SecretService for a job well done!"

The president had been hosting Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the White House. Turnbull remained at the White House as the incident was being investigated.

On Sunday, April 16, 2017 Jessica Ford was arrested and charged after she tried to climb over a climb over a crowd control barrier in front of the White House.

Jessica Ford was charged with a misdemeanor count of unlawful entry. At a D.C. Superior Court hearing Monday, a judge ordered Ford to stay away from the White House grounds and nearby area.

Courts documents said a Secret Service officer approached Jessica Ford and tried to have a conversation with her when he noticed her across the street from the White House in Lafayette Square on the afternoon of Sunday, April 16, 2017. Jessica Ford declined to speak with the agent and replied “No, I’m going to jump the fence,” then ran toward the White House fence and placed both hands atop the security barrier before she was grabbed by officers.

Jessica Ford was arrested about 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 16, 2017 just two hours after she arrived in Washington, according to court documents.

A month later in May 2017 she was arrested for trying to scale the White House fence and violating the stay-away order.

Then in July 2017, she was arrested again for violating the order.

She pleaded guilty to a contempt of court charge and as part of a plea agreement, charges for the May incident were dismissed.

A judge sentenced Ford to 120 days in jail, but it was a suspended sentence on the condition that she complete a year of supervised probation.

Ford has lengthy criminal history in Davidson County, Tennessee and Rutherford County, Tennessee.

In July 2003, Smyrna, Tennessee Police charged Jessica Ford with public intoxication, misuse of 9-1-1 and resisting stop-and-frisk halt.

In September 2003, she faced more charges from Tennessee Department of Safety officials, including Driving Under the Influence, refusing a blood-alcohol test and violating open container laws.

Later in 2003, Jessica Ford was cited on two occasions for felony prescription fraud. The first incident occurred in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in November, and the second in December in Smyrna.

Jessica Ford faced several more charges related to the string of incidents from 2004 to 2006, including multiple counts of violation of probation, resisting arrest and failure to appear by Smyrna Police, Murfreesboro Police and Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. She was jailed intermittently during that period, as well.

Ford registered as an ex-con felony drug offender in Davidson County in November 2011.

Soon after, she was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass by Metro Police in Dec. 2011 and failure to appear in court on those charges in Feb. 2012. Both incidents listed her under the name Jessica Ferrer.

According to the affidavit from her 2011 arrest in Nashville, police say:

At this time, it is unclear if Ford remained in Tennessee between her 2012 arrest in Nashville and her April 2017 offense in Washington.