For more than five hours overnight, protestors confronted Secret Service officers at barriers in front of the White House. At times, the crowd removed the metal barriers and began pushing up against the riot shields and the Secret Service officers. The protestors pushed hard enough against that a few times officers had to walk away with what minor injuries.
At least one time, the agents responded to aggressive pushing and yelling by spraying pepper spray at the protestors.
Throughout the night protestors could be heard chanting their support for Floyd and their dislike of President Trump. At one point, a different camera crew was chased off by the protestors who could be seen trying to grab their equipment.
In addition to pushing and yelling, protestors could be seen throwing water bottles and other objects toward the line of officers. Those officers were continually bringing in new metal barriers throughout the night as protestors wrestled them away and tried to break through.
The protest began about 10 p.m. Friday night and scene mostly quieted down by 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
The crowd thinned out and Secret Service Officers were able to expand their perimeter and barriers around Lafayette Park across from the White House. This was the second time that protestors gathered outside of the White House during the evening and early morning hours.
Here's what happened before that: Protestors began gathering in Washington, DC, around 7 p.m. and the White House was initially locked down as the protestors began to move toward that location.
At 8 p.m. the Secret Service tweeted, “Secret Service personnel are currently assisting other law enforcement agencies during a demonstration in Lafayette Park. In the interest of public safety we encourage all to remain peaceful.”
The lockdown was lifted just before 8:30 p.m. as protestors marched to different parts of the city, before returning to the White House later in the evening and into the early morning.
Friday evening the Secret Service said it was “currently assisting other law enforcement agencies during a demonstration in Lafayette Park.”
A later request for comment about the overnight confrontations has not been answered. CNN also has an inquiry into the DC police department.