Secret Service kicks out press corps as protesters declare ‘Black House Autonomous Zone’ near Trump’s residence

Protests in Washington, DC heated up on Monday evening.

"The US Secret Service on Monday evening told members of the White House press corps to immediately leave the White House grounds, a highly unusual decision that did not immediately come with an explanation," CNN reports. "The decision came during an ongoing demonstration in Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House where protestors were trying to bring down a statue of former President Andrew Jackson that stands in the middle of the park."

"Protesters spray painted "BHAZ" on the pillars of St. John's Episcopal Church, which sits across the street from Lafayette Square. The acronym stands for 'Black House Autonomous Zone,' an apparent reference to the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in Seattle where protesters have taken over a six-square-block area of the city and kept out police in order to set up their own self-governing space," CNN explained.

St. John's was the site of the controversial photo-op with Trump posing with a Bible after protesters were gassed.