"Outrageous" and "ridiculous": Police chased reporters away from the White House
On Tuesday, police chased reporters away from the White House and closed Lafayette Park in response to a gay rights protest. Protesters, several service members in full uniform, handcuffed themselves to fences outside the White House, as they were protesting the lack of action by the President Barack Obama and his Administration on “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.” Then, police kicked the press out of the area.
This is an extremely unusual thing to do in this area that regularly features protests. Besides, this has happened in the heart of the capital of the United States that is still believed to be the center of democracy by people around the globe. This is definitely not "freedom of press"...
A reporter (seen in the YouTube video below) calls this very unfortunate incident "outrageous" and "ridiculous."
David Schlosser, U.S. Park Police spokesman, told POLITICO that the White House played no role in the move.
"That was strictly the U.S. Parks Police that screwed up – that has nothing to do with the Secret Service of the White House or the Administration," said Sergeant Schlosser. "We had some young officers who, when they were told to move the people back -- which we typically do when we're going to make arrests - they moved the people back a lot further than we typically do. That was a rookie, amateur error and they screwed up on that."
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