Protestors try to topple president's statue outside White House

Protesters attempt to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square near the White House - Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Protesters attempt to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square near the White House - Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A crowd of protesters tried to topple the statue of a former US president near the White House on Monday evening as police responded with pepper spray to break up new protests that erupted in Washington.

Several-hundred protestors were pushed back by at least 100 security force personnel after they had thrown ropes around the statue of Andrew Jackson, the seventh US president, in Lafayette Park.

They scrawled the words "killer scum" on the base and pulled at the ropes around the figure of Mr Jackson on a horse before police intervened.

Video footage posted to social media also showed demonstrators climbing on the bronze monument in Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House, in the latest bid to destroy images of historical figures considered racist or divisive.

Police in riot gear are then seen moving in to drive the crowd back and form a protective ring around the statue, which was erected in 1852 on a white marble base.

"The police attacked us. They've taken the law to their own hands," Raymond Spaine, a 52-year-old black man cleaning his eyes with saline, told AFP.

A woman reacts to being hit with pepper spray as protesters clash with Park Police after they attempted to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square near the White House - Tasos Katopodis /Getty Images
A woman reacts to being hit with pepper spray as protesters clash with Park Police after they attempted to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square near the White House - Tasos Katopodis /Getty Images

Earlier, protesters clashed with police in nearby streets as part of the latest in a string of demonstrations against police brutality and racism.

A wave of nationwide Black Lives Matter demonstrations calling for racial justice has swept the United States since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

People react as police use pepper spray to clear out Lafayette Park across the street from the White House - MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
People react as police use pepper spray to clear out Lafayette Park across the street from the White House - MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Mr Jackson was a former general in the US Army and a populist politician nicknamed "Old Hickory", whose political style has sometimes been compared with that of Donald Trump.

Native American activists have long criticised Mr Jackson, a Democrat, for signing during his 1829-37 presidency the Indian Removal Act, in which thousands of people were driven from their land by the US government.

Forced to march West in what was described as the "Trail of Tears", thousands of Native Americans died before reaching their intended destination.

A protester wraps chains around the neck of the statue of President Andrew Jackson - REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
A protester wraps chains around the neck of the statue of President Andrew Jackson - REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Earlier this month, police broke up a peaceful protest in the same park moments before Donald Trump walked from the White House for a photo-op at a historic church damaged by arson the previous night.

Mr Trump has delivered blunt instructions to local leaders confronting the protests against police brutality, telling authorities to "dominate the streets", and he has been unapologetic about the heavy deployment of forces.

He also threatened to invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act, which would mean deploying the armed forces on US soil.

Park Police stand guard after protesters attempted to pull down the statue - Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Park Police stand guard after protesters attempted to pull down the statue - Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images