DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Shames Donald Trump For Increased Security At ‘The People’s House’

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized President Donald Trump on Thursday for his steps to increase security around the White House.

The Hill reported that the president’s security has beefed up the barriers outside the iconic residence in the face of ongoing protests that have plagued major cities across the nation in recent weeks.

“Keep in mind that that’s the people’s house,” Bowser said at a press conference after workers put additional fencing and barriers around the White House grounds.

The mayor went on to say that she was concerned the added layers of security at the White House could be permanent, adding that local government would take exception if that was the case.

“It’s a sad commentary that the house and its inhabitants have to be walled off. I think that’s a sad commentary. We should want the White House opened up for people to be able to access it from all sides.”

According to The Hill, concrete barriers were placed along Pennsylvania Avenue near Eisenhower Executive Office Building along with new fencing on 17th Street, all of which were installed on Thursday morning.

Live: Situational update June 4. https://t.co/nK5chZf25O

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) June 4, 2020

Prior to the mayor’s comments, Washington, D.C., Police Chief Peter Newsham addressed the unrest their city was experiencing. According to Newsham’s statistics, D.C. has experienced six consecutive nights of protests, with numbers growing each day to around 5,000 on Wednesday.

Newsham noted that Wednesday evening, demonstrations were peaceful with multiple groups protesting around the city, but there were no arrests made during the June 3 protests and no damage to metropolitan police property or injuries to their officers.

The increase in protection around the White House is thought to be in anticipation of what the police chief said was expected to be the largest demonstrations yet planned for Saturday. He did not speculate as to how many were expected, but the top officer did say that MPD was preparing for the impact the demonstrations would have on their officers.

Newsham also reported that Saturday saw 19 arrests of protesters, which increased to 90 on Sunday and 289 on Monday. There was a sharp decrease, however, on Tuesday with only 29 arrests.

The decrease in arrests appears to correlate with the major increase in law enforcement presence in the city following some particularly aggressive nights of protesting that devolved into vandalism and arson.

Bowser’s comments came after the president blasted her for her treatment of violent protesters. The Inquisitr previously reported that Trump requested the mayor send police officers to help secure the White House grounds, but that she refused, saying it wasn’t “their job” to assist.