WASHINGTON — The Trump administration wants to permanently fence off a park near the White House that has long served as a gathering place for protesters.Some worry it will soon become even harder to make their voices heard.Lafayette Park is a seven-acre plot filled with green lawns, shaded walkways and five historic statues, the most prominent of which shows President Andrew Jackson on a rearing horse.
The park is directly north of the White House — the closest a pedestrian can get to the landmark — making it a popular spot for tourists to take photos and protesters to rally.On Tuesday morning, under the scorching sun, a small group of protesters gathered just outside the park with microphones and posters to rally against the administration's use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement after two deadly shootings in less than a week.Across the street, closest to the White House, several other activists stood alone and in pairs holding various signs: against war, against hate, against Trump."The White House is the spot that everybody likes to stop at," said Donna Powell, 67.
"It's very iconic in the sense that this is where the president lives … So we make sure to stop here and protest.We feel it's very important."Powell comes to the area several times a week with her husband and a selection of the nearly 80 handmade posters they have at home.
That day's sampling included a cutout of President Trump, smiling and holding a sign reading "I'm stealing from YOU!"A steady stream of people stopped to take photos — both of and with the cutout — on their way to peer at the White House, through layers of temporary chain-link fencing that have closed the park since January.Before this year, Powell said, they could stand much closer to the White House (which is already surrounded by a 13-foot steel fence).The National Park Service said in January that much of Lafayette Park would be blocked through May for landscaping and other repairs ahead of the nation's 250th...