A video posted online on Monday of a black bag being heaved out of the White House showed maintenance work being done by a contractor, according to a White House official.

The video was originally posted on an Instagram account called “Washingtonianprobs” and spread widely on social media, prompting jokes about White House security protocol and speculation about what was being thrown out. It shows a person wearing white pants stepping a foot out onto a windowsill on the second floor of the White House and tossing down what appears to be a black plastic bag. Later someone tosses something long and white out the window. The second floor of the White House is where the President’s private residence is located.

“It was a contractor who was doing regular maintenance while the President wa

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