Violent protest sparked by the police killing of George Floyd continues in cities across the US on Sunday night, as fires burned close to the White House.
The presidential building’s exterior lights were briefly shut off.
It has emerged that Donald Trump was taken by Secret Service agents to an underground bunker on Friday night as protesters moved close to the White House, according to reports.
It comes as the president vowed to designate the militant left-wing demonstrators commonly known as “Antifa” a terrorist organisation.
He also attacked Democratic mayors and governors for failing to call in the National Guard to deal with “anarchists”.
Late Sunday night, the White House cautioned staffers who must go to work on Monday to hide their passes until they reach a Secret Service entry point and to hide them as they leave, according to an email which was viewed by CNN.
The email repeated mandates for maximum telework status and said there is still an “elevated security posture” due to the protests.
Trump praised the Secret Service the next day for its handling of the protests outside the White House Friday night in the wake of George Floyd’s death last week in Minneapolis.