The Secret Service has apologized after herding hundreds of parents and children out of Washington DC’s Lafayette Square on Saturday evening, where they were attempting to hold a candlelight vigil for childhood cancer.
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The move disrupted plans for a candlelight vigil meant to raise research funding.
“To be clear, the entire crowd was half kids”.
“I cried last night in my hotel room because it was my first CureFest, and
I couldn’t believe people were acting like they don’t care about children”,
Natasha Gould, one of the children told the Post.
Mr. Leary said that the decision had been based on “standard US Secret Service protocols” while President Obama was being driven to a nearby event, according to CNN.
Public information officers for the Park Police were not able to comment immediately.
Closures of Lafayette Square have occurred since the September 11th terror attacks.
The Secret Service said the park was closed down as a security precaution.
Nicole Mainor, a spokeswoman for the Secret Service, said Monday that Clancy did make the call to Gillette.
Describing the children as “terribly disappointed, ” Gillette said the group is considering a “re-do” in mid-October. “So finally, about 10:30, we gave up”, Stoddard said. “We had families from all over the country and from different countries”. People had already begun setting up their blankets and listening to the welcome music when they were told they had to leave.
“I thought it was just because the president was out, and they didn’t want to let us in because the president was there”, Veazey said. “And…we understand the need to keep our president safe”, organizer Michael Gillette, a documentary filmmaker from Fairfax City, Va, told The Washington Post.
Also – I get that the White House can’t light up in support for every single cause that’s out there.
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Some have said the agency’s actions may have been a response to a number of cases over the last few years that, as The Christian Science Monitor previously reported, have called to question its ability to both protect the first family and behave judiciously while on duty.
