Reporters told to leave White House grounds Monday night amid protests

The US Secret Service told members of the press to leave the White House grounds Monday evening amid protests near Lafayette Square where demonstrators attempted to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins called the agency’s request “incredibly unusual,” and Secret Service did not initially give a clear reason why, she said.

Secret Service later issued a statement saying “four members of the media were misdirected by the Secret Service to leave the White House grounds.” Agency procedures usually call for relocating press from the White House lawn into the press briefing room and then rerouted to exits for their safety, according to the statement. Two CNN reporters were among the four told to leave the White House, according to CNN.

Police pushed back about 200 protesters toward St. John’s Episcopal Church where President Trump stood for a photo op earlier this month. Demonstrators Monday spray painted the acronym “BHAZ” on the church pillars, which stands for “Black House Autonomous Zone,” an apparent reference to the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in Seattle where protesters have occupied a several-block area of the city and kept out police in order to set up their own governing space. The Seattle zone has remained mostly peaceful until this past weekend, where two men were shot and one later died.

RandyMarsh

Article URL : https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/23/nation/reporters-told-leave-white-house-grounds-monday-night-amid-protests/