White House press told to leave grounds as tensions rise over attempted removal of Andrew Jackson statue
WASHINGTON – Tensions were high in front of the White House Monday night after Black Lives Matter protesters worked to remove the Andrew Jackson statue in Lafayette Square.Â
Meanwhile, CNN reported that their staffers and other members of the White House press corps were asked to leave the White House grounds by Secret Service.
Confederates toppled, Columbus beheaded: Protesters rip down controversial statues
A Secret Service spokesperson told USA TODAY, “The Secret Service is looking into allegations that some members of the media were asked to vacate the White House complex Monday evening during demonstration activity in Lafayette Park.”Â
“Agency procedures normally call for the relocating of the press from the White House lawn into the press briefing room and the rerouting of exits for their safety,” they continued.Â
Tense situation outside Lafayette Park by White House tonight: Police enforcements sent to prevent BLM protestors from toppling Andrew Jackson’s statue.
Secret Service told press to leave White House grounds (CNN) pic.twitter.com/vtovOaOUKu
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) June 23, 2020
Protesters have continued to target historical symbols of the Confederacy across the country. Late last Friday, protesters in Washington, D.C., and in Raleigh, North Carolina, toppled statues. A statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis was toppled in Richmond, Virginia earlier in June.
The Andrew Jackson statue had not been taken down as of 10 p.m. EST., and police officers have responded to the area.Â
The protests over racial injustice were sparked by the killing of George Floyd, a Black man whose neck was pinned under the knee of a white police officer for nearly nine minutes in May.Â
President Donald Trump tweeted that “numerous people” had been arrested “for the disgraceful vandalism, in Lafayette Park, of the magnificent Statue of Andrew Jackson, in addition to the exterior defacing of St. John’s Church across the street.”
This story is breaking and will be updated.Â
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DC protesters attempt to remove Andrew Jackson statue near White House