Relatives of Dominic Adesanya, who was detained Wednesday evening after scaling the White House fence, say that the man suffers from mental illness.

Around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, 23-year-old Adesanya managed to jump over the White House fence on the North Lawn and run about 20 feet before he was attacked by two Secret Service K-9 dogs. The Maryland man was then taken into custody by Secret Service officers, reports NBC News.

Adesanya, who was unarmed, was initially treated at a hospital for dog bites before he was brought into custody, said a Secret Service official. The two dogs were also treated by a vet for minor injuries.

He has been charged with two counts of felony assault on a police officer for punching and kicking the dogs, four counts of resisting and unlawful entry, and one count of making threats, said Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary.

His father, Victor Adesanya, told WMAR-TV that his son is paranoid and hears voices. He also said that Adesanya was arrested two months ago and charged with a misdemeanor in a previous White House security breach.

"He had done it before. ... He didn't get that close," said the father. "He didn't cross the fence. He was at the gate, fussing at the people, wanting to talk to the President to tell the President about his situation."

His father said his son's downward mental health spiral was triggered after he was prohibited from trying out for a college football team at Stevenson University in Westminster, Maryland. He dropped out of school in November and has been medically diagnosed with paranoia and schizophrenia, but his father says has been refusing to take medicine.

According to his father, his son thinks "he's got to prove he's this phenomenon athlete."

"He doesn't understand, you know, his problem is not the President, you know, his problem is in his head," Adesanya told CNN. " And he don't want help, but we can't get him help, but we think he needs to be forced to get the help."