Rally Announcements
There are no curfews currently in effect for Washington, D.C.
Protests this weekend are expected to be extremely large.
During a Thursday press briefing, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham made the following statement:
“We have a lot of public, open-source information to suggest that the event on this upcoming Saturday may be one of the largest that we’ve had in the city.”
At a Justice Department news conference on Thursday, Attorney General William Barr said that more than 100 security officials were injured in Washington last weekend amid demonstrations protesting the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The AG stated that individuals in Lafayette Park, just north of the White House, used crowbars to dig pavers from the ground and then hurled them, resulting in head injuries to those behind the police lines.
“We decided that we needed more of a buffer to protect the White House and to protect our agents and Secret Service personnel who could be reached by projectiles from H Street.”
As a result, in advance of this weekend's protests, the U.S. Secret Service announced it would be closing certain areas around the White House to increase security.
“The U.S. Secret Service, in coordination with the U.S. Park Police, is announcing the closure of the areas in and around the White House complex. These closures are in an effort to maintain the necessary security measures surrounding the White House complex, while also allowing for peaceful demonstration.”
New security fencing has been installed around the White House, significantly expanding the security zone.
The Ellipse and its roadways, sidewalks and side panels, E Street and sidewalks between 15th and 17th Streets, Sherman Park and Hamilton Place, Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th and 17th streets will be closed until June 10..
