The nation's capital braced itself with members of the National Guard guarding famous landmarks and patrolling a new pedestrian-only demonstration area as streets were closed off. The White House remained a fortress, with black fences between seven and nine feet high erected around its perimeter cutting off protesters, as D.C.'s mayor formally renamed the street outside 'Black Lives Matter Plaza'. Streets were shut in downtown from 6am as the first of the dozens of demonstrations organized for the day began and the city's metro system announced it was reopening cars closed due to coronavirus to boost rider capacity.