Tensions outside White House as protesters try to topple Andrew Jackson statue
- Crowd tried to topple the statue of the seventh US president, in Lafayette Park
- Reporters ordered to leave White House while protests take place nearby
A crowd of protesters tried to topple the statue of a former US president near the White House Monday evening as police responded with pepper spray to break up new protests that erupted in Washington.
On Monday, several hundred protesters were pushed back by at least 100 security force personnel after they had thrown ropes around the statue of Andrew Jackson, the seventh US president, in Lafayette Park.
“The police attacked us. They’ve taken the law to their own hands,” Raymond Spaine, a 52-year-old black man cleaning his eyes with saline, said.
The statue shows Jackson in a military uniform, riding a horse that is rearing on its hind legs. The 19th century president’s ruthless treatment of Native Americans has made his statue a target of demonstrators protesting the United States’ legacy of racial injustice.