White House to Look into Security Reimbursement

The White House will look into reimbursing local law enforcement for costs associated with President Barack Obama's decision in March to move the G-8 summit to Camp David from Chicago, where it was originally planned, an administration official said Saturday.

That acknowledgment from Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, came as more than 400 activists converged on downtown Thurmont on Saturday afternoon, less than 10 miles away from where Obama and other G-8 leaders tackled some of the world's most pressing issues, including shoring up the global economy, sanctions against Iran and unrest in Syria.

County and Thurmont law enforcement officials have said they were keeping a tally of the costs of staffing and planning for security outside Catoctin Mountain Park, which closed for the G-8, as they monitored social networks and other websites in the run-up to the summit to estimate how big protests may become. U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett sent a letter to the White House last week asking Obama to reimburse the county for its cost after Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said it was unfair that Chicago, which will host the NATO summit beginning today, was receiving about $40 million in federal assistance.

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