U.S.: Secret Service Agents Wounded Outside White House, Car Bombs Feared

Secret Service agents wounded outside White House, car bombs feared

Gregg Re

More than 50 Secret Service agents were injured, fires set by rioters blazed near the White House and authorities were searching for car bombs late Sunday as protests over the death of George Floyd continued to roil the capital just two days after President Trump had to be taken to a bunker for his safety.

A senior official in the direct chain of command for defending Washington D.C. told Fox News of the injuries to Secret Service agents, some of whom were hurt by rioters throwing bottles and Molotov cocktails in Lafayette Park, just across from the presidential residence. As observed in New York City and elsewhere, groups in D.C. are planting cars filled with incendiary materials for future use, Fox News is told.  U.S. Marshals and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents were deployed to the streets of D.C. in an extraordinary move to beef up security alongside local police and Homeland Security agents, including the Secret Service, the Justice Department confirmed late Sunday. Fox News has learned U.S. Attorney for D.C. Mike Sherwin is heavily involved in the operation.

Lights that normally illuminate the exterior of the White House were disabled early Monday morning, reportedly so that the Secret Service could use night-vision equipment to monitor protesters.

Additionally, the entire Washington, D.C. National Guard was being called in to help with the response to protests outside the White House and elsewhere in the nation’s capital, according to two Defense Department officials. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said Sunday that she had requested 500 DC Guardsman to assist local law enforcement. Later on Sunday, as the protests escalated, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy ordered the rest of the Guardsman — roughly 1,200 soldiers — to report.

As authorities clashed with demonstrators for the third straight night, the parish house connected to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church across the street from the White House was set on fire late Sunday. The parish house contains offices and parlors for gatherings. The basement, which was also torched, is used for childcare during church services, and had recently undergone renovations.

The church says every president beginning with James Madison, “until the present,” has attended a service at the church, giving it the nickname, “the church of presidents.” The first services at the church were held in 1816, according to its website.

Before the blaze, church officials had said they were thankful that the previous day of protests hadn't significantly damaged the structure.

"We are fortunate that the damage to the buildings is limited," Rev. Rob Fisher, the rector of the church, said in a statement earlier Sunday, several hours before the fire was set.

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) building was also set ablaze near the White House. The AFL-CIO is the nation's largest pro-union group.

An hour before the 11 p.m. ET curfew in D.C., police fired a major barrage of tear gas stun grenades into the crowd of more than 1,000 people, largely clearing Lafayette Park across the street from the White House and scattering protesters into the street.

Separately on Sunday, Twitter suspended the account of Antifa, the left-wing group that Trump branded a terrorist organization earlier in the day. The suspension came after Antifa urged members to go into "white hoods" and "take what's ours." Twitter and President Trump have sparred in recent days over censorship.

The developments came as it emerged that the Secret Service took President Trump to the White House's underground bunker on Friday night, when protests outside the complex intensified.

A senior administration official confirmed the information to Fox News after The New York Times first reported the story.

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