![]() ![]() But they’re not just chanting ‘No Justice/No Peace’. “There are a lot of new faces and white supporters. “It’s way too early for a victory lap, but this does feel hopeful,” said McAlpin, the relief station volunteer and a veteran of multiple previous protests over black deaths at police hands. Bowser also commissioned the painting of a massive yellow “Black Lives Matter” on 16th street leading up to the White House. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who engaged in a weeklong public feud with Trump over his deployment of armed National Guard units in Washington, renamed the intersection in front of St. Mitt Romney of Utah marched with the protesters. McEnany noted that the protests since that night have been increasingly peaceful and she credits Trump’s calling in the National Guard.Īs the violence subsided and the weather improved, the mood outside the the White House turned festive over the weekend. ![]() “Park Police also had made that decision independently when they saw all the violence in Lafayette Square,” she said. McEnany said it was Attorney General William Barr who made the decision to expand the security perimeter around the White House. On Monday, White Press press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said there were “no regrets on the part of this White House” over the handling of peaceful protesters that night. The exact decision-making around that series of events continues to be a topic of lingering controversy and examination. John’s, the historic church that had been damaged in the protests. Immediately afterward, President Donald Trump staged a brief photo op in front of St. Park Police used smoke bombs, pepper pellets and officers on horseback to violently clear peaceful protesters. But it’s been closed off since last Monday by a towering black chain link fence that was hastily erected after U.S. Lafayette Park is one of the country’s most prominent sites for political protests and other free-speech events. ![]() Liming gave no time for when the rest of the square would reopen. National Park Service Spokeswoman Katie Liming said some fencing will remain in Lafayette Park around damaged areas to allow workers to make repairs and address safety hazards. “Donald Trump is not your friend and neither is the sun on a day like this.” We have free water here,” said one volunteer over a loudspeaker. At the medical relief tents, the number-one priority was no longer dousing people with milk and antacid to counter the effect of smoke bombs and pepper balls. The clearest sign of last week’s protests - other than the massive yellow “Black Lives Matter” painted in the middle of 16th Street - is the sheets of plywood covering almost every window on the block. The area is pristine, with no sign of broken glass and only minimal graffiti visible. Police have turned a several-block area north of Lafayette Park, in front of the White House, into an open air pedestrian space. “Last night we were doing the ‘Cha Cha Slide’ in the street.” “For me this is exactly the sort of atmosphere it should be,” said Leigh McAlpin, a writer and veteran activist from Baltimore, who was staffing a medical relief tent offering water and snacks. government have rallied to the protesters’ cause. The anger has given way to something closer to a street fair as community leaders, members of Congress and the D.C. John’s Episcopal Church, it was so tranquil Monday afternoon you could hear the birds chirping while a white visitor paid for a $20 Black Lives Matter T-shirt with Venmo.Īs the nation’s capital emerges from a violent and chaotic 10-day stretch of protests and street battles, a different mood is taking hold. One block away at the corner of 16th and I streets - a constant flash point for most of last week - the calliope version of “La Cucaracha” rang out from an ice cream truck parked just outside the police roadblock. While it’s currently being put to creative use, NPS said most of the temporary fencing will also be removed. Messages, posters and portraits, ranging from loving to enraged, almost blot out the view of the White House across the way. WASHINGTON (AP) - That massive fence erected around Lafayette Park, which the National Park Service said will partially reopen Wednesday, has become a do-it-yourself gallery of protest art. Business & Finance Click to expand menu. ![]()
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