WASHINGTON — Two military personnel were injured after being struck by lightning near Lafayette Park on Thursday, D.C. Fire and EMS officials said.
The National Guardsmen were struck within the Lafayette Park perimeter -- the epicenter of "Justice For George Floyd" protests in D.C. -- shortly after midnight, officials said.
Both of the officers were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
During the seventh day of protests, severe weather cleared out many protesters. But a few remained through the downpour in the area of Lafayette Square past midnight.
D.C. did not impose a curfew on Thursday night after zero arrests were made Wednesday night, Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
There were fewer crowds seen in the District on Thursday, but there continued to be a strong military, police, and riot control presence, in the midst of peaceful demonstrations around Washington.
"Justice for George Floyd" protests sparked after a video surfaced showing George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer.
Protests erupted nationwide days after Floyd’s death calling for the arrests of all the officers involved after a Memorial Day viral video showed Floyd being pinned down by his neck by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Floyd, who is repeatedly heard in the video saying he can't breathe and asking for Chauvin to get off his neck, died that day.
The Minneapolis mayor on Tuesday fired all four officers involved in the incident. On Friday, Chauvin was arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death.
The three officers who were involved in the incident have also been charged.
D.C. was among cities across the nation who held protests since Friday night, demanding justice after George Floyd's death.