US Attorney-General William Barr asked for protesters to be pushed back from Washington's Lafayette Square on Monday (June 1) after finding a previous decision to widen the security perimeter around the White House had not been acted upon, the Washington Post reported, citing an unnamed Justice Department official.
The decision to expand the perimeter was made late on Sunday or early on Monday, two federal law enforcement officials told the Post.
When Barr arrived at the park across from the White House on Monday afternoon, he saw it had not been done and told police to act, the Justice Department official told the newspaper.