US Justice Department seeks to lift injunction on ballroom project after shooting
May 25 (Reuters) – The Justice Department once again asked the federal court to lift a preliminary injunction blocking progress on President Donald Trump’s ballroom project, saying Saturday’s shooting outside the White House showed an urgent need to increase security.
The incident underscores a critical need for “high-end, state-of-the-art security at the White House, including the ballroom,” which is vital to national security, the Justice Department said in a five-page court filing filed Sunday. He also wants the lawsuit challenging the project to be dismissed.
The Justice Department had previously asked a federal judge to throw the case out of the ballroom after a thwarted attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April.
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The lawsuit was filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress. After the attack in April, he said he would not give up the case despite the request of the Ministry of Justice.
The gunman who fired at the White House checkpoint on Saturday was shot by police officers and died after being taken to the hospital on Saturday evening, the Secret Service said.
(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston, Editing by Deepa Babington)
