The US police imposed a security cordon around the White House, reinforced with concrete barriers, after demonstrators attempted to remove the memorial of the seventh President of the United States Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park opposite the White House.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump issued a decision allowing the authorities to arrest and prosecute anyone involved in sabotaging and destroying historical statues, with a prison sentence of up to ten years.
Trump, in a tweet on Twitter, condemned the attempt by a number of what he called saboteurs to destroy the Andrew Jackson statue in Washington. He added that this step (arrest and prosecution) comes into effect immediately, but it can also be applied retroactively to deal with incidents of destruction and vandalism that have already occurred and there will be no exceptions, he said.
"We are looking at long prison terms according to the law on statues," Trump said.
The United States recently witnessed incidents of destruction and vandalism of statues described as a symbol of racism, in conjunction with protests that erupted in all states, against the background of the killing of an African American citizen, George Floyd, by a policeman in the city of Minneapolis.
The protesters destroyed a statue of "Francis Scott Key" who wrote the American National Anthem and was a slave owner, and they targeted many other statues of US presidents and symbols.
Early Tuesday, coinciding with the police closing the streets near the White House, Trump left by plane to Arizona to deliver a speech in front of his supporters.
"We are studying the imposition of long-term prison terms" for those who harm federal landmarks, he said, adding: "These are not protesters, by the way. They are anarchists ..."
And Twitter posted Tuesday a sign of a new tweet for the US president, saying that it "violates" the network rules related to "abusive behavior", while making room for it to be read.
Trump tweeted as demonstrations against police violence and racism continued for weeks, sending a warning to protesters in Washington, threatening to use "serious force" if they tried to create a zone for them along the lines of what happened in Seattle.
"There will never be (an autonomous region) in Washington as long as your president," Trump said in the tweet. "If they try to do so, they will face appropriate force."
The Republican president was referring to the police-free zone created by the demonstrators in Seattle in Washington state (west of the country) two weeks ago, and sparked anger among the conservatives.
On Saturday, protesters prevented police from reaching the "Capitol Hill neighborhood" in Seattle after one person was shot, and the mayor of the western coastal city announced on Monday that they intended to control the area.
In Washington, DC, protesters tried late on Monday evening to overthrow a huge statue of Andrew Jackson, the president of the country between 1829 and 1837, who showed him riding on a horse.
The statue is located just outside the White House, and was targeted because of Jackson's racist history and brutal policies against Native Americans.
The police dispersed the demonstrators with batons and pepper spray, but only after the monument was heavily defaced with symbols and emblems.