Made my way near the White House to start what’s sure to be two days jam-packed with protests. Been a while since I’ve seen BLM Plaza bustling with activity like this. Hundreds of people, music blaring and the smell of incense in the air.

It’s busy albeit calm — there’s dancing near I and 16th streets. People are wandering in ahead of a noise demo aiming to drown out Trump’s speech on the south lawn.

First sight for newcomers is a banner depicting Trump neck-high in a mound of skulls:

Early tension near the White House: Confrontation with a Trump supporter (I’m hearing Jacob Wohl?) led police to swoop in from the sidelines and block people from giving chase down H Street. Now it’s protesters facing off with cops, and the speech hasn’t even begun yet.

That brief standoff north of the White House ended with police backing out of H Street, funneled through the months-old Black Lives Matter art tunnel by a ton of people chanting “hands up, don’t shoot.”

Meanwhile the noise demo that’ll try to disrupt Trump’s big RNC speech is taking shape near Freedom Plaza. Prepping to roll out any minute are a go-go band on a flatbed and a school bus with a front-mounted basketball hoop, aka the hoopbus.

It’s 9 p.m. on the eastern seaboard on the final night of the RNC, and a hundreds-strong group of dancing protesters are paralleling the White House ellipse with a live band singing “Trump gotta go, make sure you vote.” – bei The White House

Here we have the hoopbus, basically a mobile basketball court memorializing victims of police violence. On its windows, names like George Floyd, Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor. One of the brightly-colored backboards reads VOTE. – bei The White House

The perpetual go-go party is on the move around the south end of the White House ellipse with Trump’s speech minutes away. Joining the wall of sound here are dozens of air horns, at times almost louder than the music itself.

Extreme party mode = engaged. – bei The White House

Four or five fireworks into the air near the Department of Commerce, a block up from the go-go group. Vuvuzelas, pots/pans, cowbells and sirens ceaselessly blaring from 15 St. into the White House grounds. Ears ringing!

The go-go band drove off into the night. Most who were with them either went back to BLM plaza or joined up with another group facing the White House checkpoint at 15th & Penn. where it’s still deafeningly loud.

Heard a rumble up 15th Street, for a moment thought there’d be a jet flyover. Turn around, lo and behold there’s about two dozen people on ATVs speeding past the White House complex doing wheelies.

Fireworks marking the end of Trump’s address getting all the middle fingers over at Black Lives Matter Plaza. “This is bullshit,” somebody screams, before the crowd erupts into a chant of “you’re about to lose your job.”

Not quite sure how the RNC attendees are going to leave the White House. Five tour buses were just let in through the perimeter at 15th and New York, but people now have that checkpoint and two others on this street blocked.

Crowd thinning but we’ve just had two flareups: A bunch of people routed police off 15th at Penn. where I saw a cop pull mace but he didn’t use it. Someone got arrested near BLM plaza at about the same time, I’m told there was a fight.

Abdallah with all the details on what just went down near BLM plaza. A guy showed up in blackface: https://twitter.com/abdallah_fayyad/status/1299201618043375616

Heading for some much needed since I’m out again in less than six hours for the anniversary March on Washington which they’re expecting tens of thousands at. Might be the biggest we’ve seen here for a while. Back in the morning.