YEMEN Press Agency

White House locked down due to protests

SANAA, May 30 (YPA) – The US Secret Service closed the White House building on Friday evening as protests over the death of George Floyd arrived in Washington, D.C.

According to USA Today, a White House spokesman said protests over the death of American George Floyd have reached Washington, D.C., leading to lockdown at the White House.

The doors of the White House press rooms, where there are offices for journalists, were also closed, while Secret Service officers prevented anyone from approaching the White House building.

The Secret Service often shuts down the White House because of sophisticated security threats, such as parcels or bags left nearby. But the building is rarely closed due to protests.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump revealed that he had spoken to the family of An African-American national George Floyd, who died as a result of cruel detention by Minnesota police officers.

“I talked to his family, they’re great people,” Trump said during a White House meeting with the heads of a number of US companies Friday night.

On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety announced the arrest of Derek Chauvin, a security officer who appeared to have arrested George Floyd, who died during a violent arrest by security officers.

Minneapolis City District Attorney Mike Freeman charged former police officer Derek Chauvin with murder; one of the four officers involved in the death of George Floyd.

Floyd, a black man, died after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by an officer’s knee, sparking demonstrations against police brutality and racial discrimination in cities across the United States.

E.M