House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Monday called on President Donald Trump to reopen Lafayette Square and to bring down semi-permanent steel fencing that makes the unique park lie a "militarized zone."
They wrote in a letter to Trump that closing the park has long been a venue where Americans can gather to protest near the White House, and closing it not only denies citizens their access but "sends the worst possible message to the American public and people around the world," reports The Washington Post.
"Lafayette Square should be a symbol of freedom and openness, not a place behind which the leader of our Executive Branch cowers in fear of protesters who are crying out for justice," they added.
Police on June 1 cleared the park of demonstrators protesting for racial equality after the death of George Floyd before Trump and administration leaders walked to the nearby St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo appearance.
The barriers around the White House have expended to add more than a mile of metal fencing, which the Secret Service says will stay up until Wednesday. The fencing has become a makeshift memorial to Floyd.
The administration has said Lafayette Square should remain closed for security reasons, but Pelosi and Schumer said in their letter the explanation is "not sufficient," considering security measures usually in play have been adequate "for a quarter of a century to protect the White House complex from terrorism and all manner of other threats."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.