A federal design panel Thursday will consider the Trump administration’s plan to add a permanent fence around Lafayette Square Park, a public space next to the White House that is frequently the site of protests.

The move comes as President Donald Trump and the Secret Service say that they are concerned about the security of the White House during protests. The administration’s submission to the panel, the Commission of Fine Arts, includes photos of graffiti in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip left in the park, and of standoffs between police officers and protesters.

The administration said that there were “several examples of assemblies that elevate into non-peaceful demonstrations which have resulted in violence towards law enforcement officers maintaining the necessary standoff from restricted areas and vandalism.”

The Commission of Fine Arts, which advises the administration on design projects in Washington, is also set Thursday to consider a proposal to build a 33,000-square-foot security screening facility for visitors to the White House, the latest major change to the grounds overseen by Trump.

But it is the proposal to add permanent fencing to Lafayette Square Park that has drawn opposition from people who believe it runs counter to the free speech activities that frequently take place there.

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who represents the District of Columbia, has introduced a bill to prohibit permanent fencing at the park.

“Lafayette Square has long welcomed First Amendment demonstrations, vigils and public gatherings,” Norton said in a statement, adding: “Permanent fencing at Lafayette Square would send the wrong message to the nation and the world by continuing to transform our democracy from one that is accessible and of the people to one that is exclusive and fearful of its own citizens.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Luke Broadwater/Kent Nishimura
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