Tensions are escalating in the nation’s capital as protesters clash with U.S. Park Police and Metropolitan Police after attempting to tear down the Andrew Jackson statue in Lafayette Park.
Protesters are clashing with police after attempting to topple the statue in Washington, DC, and demonstrators have also attempted to establish their own “autonomous zone,” dubbed the “Black House Autonomous Zone,” even spray painting the columns of St. John’s Episcopal Church — which caught fire after riots broke out in the capital last month — with “B-H-A-Z”:
Several videos on social media show protesters yelling at officers, shouting expletives through megaphones, and setting fires:
Reporters were also asked to leave the White House amid the chaos, which CNN reported as a “highly unusual decision that did not immediately come with an explanation”:
NBC Washington also reported that four officers were injured Monday afternoon after attempting to clear tents near Black Lives Matter Plaza. Some protesters reportedly “threw objects at officers while they tried to remove the tents, police said,” according to the outlet.
“Two people were arrested. Police have not identified them or said if they were charged. The officers’ injuries were not serious, police said,” NBC Washington added.
This story is developing.