Police thwart protesters' attempt to tear down Andrew Jackson statue near White House: media

WASHINGTON -- Police on Monday night used a chemical irritant to disperse protesters who were attempting to topple a statue of former US President Andrew Jackson in a park near the White House, local media reported.

Before the police intervention, the protesters threw ropes around the statue in Lafayette Square and began trying to pull it down, chanting "Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, Andrew Jackson's got to go," said the reports.

Protesters did manage to smash the wooden wheels of four replica canons at the base of the statue astride a horse, said a Washington Post report, adding "protesters threw things at police, and officers shoved people in the melee."

Earlier on Monday, police and protesters briefly clashed as city officials attempted to clear out tents erected on a street near the White House and the Black Lives Matter Plaza, saying they were creating a potential safety hazard.

Jackson, the seventh US president, signed the Indian Removal Act in May 1830, which led to the relocations of thousands of Native Americans and the deaths of thousands more when he was in office.