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Cancer-stricken children, parents, ejected from park near White House
Topic Started: Sep 21 2015, 10:54 AM (35 Views)
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Cancer-stricken children, parents, ejected from park near White House

The U.S. Secret Service ordered hundreds of parents and their cancer-stricken children out of Lafayette Square on Saturday night, barricading the park for at least two hours and disrupting the group’s plans for a candlelight vigil to raise awareness and research funding for childhood cancer, participants said.

Some of the parents and children expressed hurt and disappointment that Secret Service and National Park Police, citing security precautions, virtually shut down part of a two-day event called CureFest for Childhood Cancer.

“We ended up waiting at the gates for two hours, and they never let us in,” said Natasha Gould, an 11-year-old Canadian girl who started a blog after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor this year. “And 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.”

Public information officers for the Secret Service and the Park Police were not able to comment immediately. Closures of Lafayette Square have occurred periodically since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and security incidents at the White House.

Organizers, aligned with The Truth 365 grass roots child-cancer advocacy program, had obtained a permit to hold “A Night of Golden Lights,” in which participants would light electric candles.

But as the closure dragged on, some of the sick children, fatigued by the wait or the need to receive medication, had to return to their hotel rooms, organizers said. Others began crying, and some parents became enraged. Attendees said the group of at least 700 people were not allowed access to personal items they left behind, such as chairs and blankets.

Police officers and agents on the scenes told some parents that the closure was necessary because President Obama had left the White House from an entrance near the square to address the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual gala.

“At first, we were patient. I mean we’re a peaceful community; we’re fighting for kids’ lives,” said Anthony Stoddard, a New Hampshire resident who, after the death of his 5-year-old son, launched an initiative to light public buildings in gold as a show of support for children who have cancer. “But after about an hour, or hour and a half, it started getting a little angry, some of the fathers.”

Some parents saw the Secret Service park closure as excessive, perhaps driven by the agency’s embarrassment over previous high-profile security lapses. Others read into it signs of a White House snub for their cause.

“I feel like this may be overcompensating for glaring errors that the Secret Service has made in past years. And again, we understand the need to keep our president safe. But we think a little consideration would have gone a long way,” said organizer Michael Gillette, a documentary filmmaker from Fairfax City, Va. “When we get shut out of the president’s front yard, it’s just disheartening.”

The candlelight vigil came about partly because of the group’s inability to persuade the White House to light the mansion in gold as a symbol of support for the cause, as is done for other causes, organizers said. So they decided to hold a candlelight vigil of their own. Last year was the first.

The group had a permit to stage an event from 7 to 9 p.m., Stoddard said. They had already set up a stage for speakers and an acoustical musical performance, and welcoming music had started to play, when authorities ejected them.

“Police were telling a lot of people in our group to leave because it was so close to the road there was a traffic issue. It got really frustrating. No one was giving us answers about when we would get in. So finally, about 10:30, we gave up,” Stoddard said. “It was heartbreaking.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cancer-stricken-children-parents-ejected-from-park-near-white-house/ar-AAey59A?li=AAa0dzB
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