Two members of the National Guard were struck by lightning late last night in Lafayette Park, where protesters had been forced out earlier this week so President Donald Trump could stop at a nearby church.
The two have been hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries just after midnight on June 5, according to D.C. Fire. Although they were not struck directly, the two "felt the effects of a nearby lightning strike,” a fire official told NBC News.
“Shortly after midnight, #DCsBravest received a call for a report of 2 military personnel suffering the effects of a nearby lighting strike within the Lafayette Park perimeter,” D.C. Fire and EMS tweeted early Friday morning. “Both were transported with non life threatening injuries.”
Dan Scavino, the overnight White House social media director, tweeted an image of the lightning strike.
Lafayette Park is also where law enforcement used smoke canisters, pepper balls, and tear gas to force protesters away so Trump could stop by a nearby church for a photo op. He later claimed not to have known that there were protestors in the park at that time.
“Now, when I said, ‘Go to the church,' I didn’t know protesters or not. Nobody tells me that. They say, ‘Yes, sir. We’ll go to the church.’ So we walked over to the church,” Trump said on Wednesday.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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