On Friday, protestors marched to the White House and breached barricades erected by the U.S. Secret Service over the death of George Floyd, a man who died last week while being pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police officers. President Donald Trump praised the U.S. Secret Service on Saturday for its protection of the White House last night during protests in our nation’s capital.

Secret Service and U.S. Capitol police set up a perimeter and deployed pepper spray in an attempt to disperse protestors after barriers were breached. There are reports of an officer being injured during the protest. You can watch video footage of the demonstration:

Close

Trump has claimed the protestors were “professionally managed” and not genuine demonstrators protesting the killing of George Floyd. He tweeted, “Great job last night at the White House by the U.S. @SecretService. They were not only totally professional, but very cool. I was inside, watched every move, and couldn’t have felt more safe. They let the ‘protesters’ scream & rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone……..got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard – didn’t know what hit them. The front line was replaced with fresh agents, like magic. Big crowd, professionally organized, but nobody came close to breaching the fence. If they had they would…….have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen. That’s when people would have been really badly hurt, at least. Many Secret Service agents just waiting for action.”

Another tweet with accolades for law enforcement read:  “We put the young ones on the front line, sir, they love it, and……..good practice.”

Additionally, the president tweeted compliments for law enforcers but also a jab at the DC mayor: “As you saw last night, they were very cool & very professional. Never let it get out of hand. Thank you! On the bad side, the D.C. Mayor, @MurielBowser, who is always looking for money & help, wouldn’t let the D.C. Police get involved. ‘Not their job.’ Nice!”

The White House was briefly locked down amid the protests, which have now spanned across the nation. The riots and protests have been sparked by video showing Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, something protestors say is the latest incident of police brutality against black men. Four Minneapolis police officers involved in the incident were fired on Tuesday—among them, Derek Chauvin was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder. The events have sparked protests and rioting across the U.S., from New York City and Washington, D.C to Chicago; Columbus, Ohio and Atlanta; Louisville, Kentucky and Dallas, to San Jose, Los Angeles, and Portland Oregon.

Fox News reporter Leland Vittert was covering the protests in D.C.’s Lafayette Park with three crew members just before 1:00 a.m. when as many as a dozen masked protestors surrounded them. After a protestor lunged at Vittert while he was reporting on air, the team made a beeline out of the park with the hostile, growing crowd in pursuit. “Imagine what it’s like to be a black man, feeling like this every f**king day,” a woman shouted at the crew as they hurried away.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

Cities across the country are bracing for a weekend filled with protests over Floyd’s death and the broader treatment of African Americans at the hands of police. Mayors are speaking out, calling for demonstrators to show their anger through “non-violent activism.”