Pelosi, Schumer ask Trump to reopen Lafayette Square ASAP

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday, asking the president to reopen Lafayette Square to the public immediately.

Lafayette Square, a seven-acre public park located within President’s Park in Washington, DC, directly north of the White House on H Street, is a space that has long been used by Americans to freely exercise their First Amendment rights. The park was recently closed to the public after a wave of protests.

In the letter, Pelosi and Schumer strongly condemn the Trump administration for using federal officers to forcibly remove protestors from the park.

Officers used tear gas and other violent means in order for Trump to hold a photo-op in front of St. John’s Church. Semi-permanent steel fencing was also installed to obstruct the access of citizens to the park.

“On June 1, 2020, you were responsible for ordering federal officers to force peaceful protestors from the Square using tear gas and other violent means, in clear violation of the protestors’ First Amendment rights of free of speech and assembly,” reads the letter. “This deeply offensive action was taken in service of the regrettable political stunt you staged at St. John’s Church that evening.”

The letter adds, “You have now erected heavy, semi-permanent steel fencing to wall off the Square. Your conversion of this unique public park in the heart of our Nation’s capital to what looks like a militarized zone denies citizens access to the park and sends the worst possible message to the American public and people around the world.”

The House speaker and the Democratic leader say in the letter the claim by the administration that the square’s closing is required for security is insufficient.

It should be noted here that the White House’s security perimeter had a dramatic expansion in the mid-1990s.

The letter emphasizes that the park should stay a symbol of openness and freedom and not a place that is used to cower by the president in fear of protesters crying out for justice.

Image credit - Frypie (CC BY-SA 4.0)