Protesters try to topple Andrew Jackson statue near the White House
Protesters attempted to tear down a statue of Andrew Jackson in a park just outside the White House on Monday night.
Photos from Lafayette Square in Washington D.C. show a rope tied around the statue of Jackson with the word “Killer” spray-painted on the base of the sculpture.
U.S. Park and D.C. police responded to the green space and reportedly used some type of chemical irritant to disperse the crowd of protesters.
Protesters Monday night also tried to set up an autonomous zone outside of the White House — similar to Seattle’s so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.
Demonstrators used barricades to build the perimeter around what they called “BHAZ” — Black House Autonomous Zone — before police disrupted their efforts and breached the area.
Amid the tense confrontation between police and protesters, the US Secret Service also asked the reporters to leave the White House, Fox News reported. It wasn’t immediately clear why the request was made.
President Trump also weighed in on Monday night, threatening protesters with prison sentences for vandalizing statues.
“Numerous people arrested in D.C. 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,” he tweeted.
“10 years in prison under the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act. Beware!”
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