WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - President Donald Trump was taken to a secure area late on Friday (May 29) as a condition "red" was declared at the White House amid violent protests outside the building sparked by the death of Mr George Floyd, a person familiar with the matter said.
It's not clear whether the measure was repeated in the two subsequent nights of protest around the White House, but the protesters weren't as close to the fence on those nights as they were on Friday.
Demonstrators skirmished with the US Secret Service in Lafayette Square late on Friday alongside an outer ring of temporary fencing set up along the edge of the park, leading to six arrests and "multiple" injuries among the agency's personnel, the Secret Service said.
In a series of tweets on Saturday morning, Mr Trump appeared to revel in the potential for violence outside the White House, warning that Friday's protesters would have been met by "vicious dogs" and "most ominous weapons" had they dared to breach the fence around the property.
Protesters demanded justice for Mr Floyd, who died last week after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes during an arrest for an alleged counterfeit US$20 bill.
A condition "red" was declared at the White House complex on Friday night, three people familiar with the matter said.
In that situation, the building is locked down - no one is allowed in or out, staff are directed to minimise their movement inside the complex, and enhanced protections are put in place for the first family.
Secret Service officials were tense but calm on Friday, and some of Mr Trump's closest aides were dismayed that he tweeted an invitation to his own supporters to join the protests - potentially setting up a violent clash, two people familiar with the matter said.
The decision to bring the President to the more secure area of the compound late on Friday was reported earlier by the New York Times.
The White House declined to comment.
Protests continued on Saturday and Sunday. Late on Sunday, a fire broke out at St John's Episcopal Church - directly across Lafayette Square from the White House's northern fence.
A block away, another fire was set at the AFL-CIO headquarters. Last night's protest didn't encroach closely on the White House perimeter.
Mr Trump on Sunday tweeted "LAW & ORDER" and said he'd declare Antifa a terrorist group, a largely symbolic measure against a loosely organised leftist movement.
Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Monday that Mr Trump is focused on targeting those protesters, as opposed to what she referred to as "legitimate peaceful protesters" among the crowds.
"This President is committed to acting on this. He has several meetings pertaining to that today. And that's his focus right now - acting and keeping our streets safe," she said. "We've got to discern and distinguish this violent Antifa from the protesters who do have a legitimate grievance."
Mr Trump is scheduled to meet with Attorney-General William Barr on Monday morning at the White House, and will speak with governors and law enforcement officials afterward.
