there's a Washington Post reporter on the scene, and he's broadcasting through on local stations in the DC area....amazing that they evacuated buildings/closed streets for safety, all around the White House, and left bush* in place at the CENTER of the action....armoured vehicles, building evacuations, street closures, hazmat...EVERYTHING....
-snips-
The Secret Service and District police surrounded the van, approaching it with guns drawn. They kept close watch while they talked to the man in hopes of ending the standoff peacefully. Hundreds of officers were at the scene, positioned along 15th and nearby streets.
Police swept through office buildings on 15th Street NW, evacuating them. At least three command vehicles were on the scene. An armored vehicle rode up and down 15th Street, and hazmat vehicles, ambulances and other emergency equipment took over the streets.
The White House was not evacuated, but numerous buildings in the surrounding area were cleared and police blocked traffic, creating gridlock throughout the rush hour.
Police shut off parts of 14th and 15th streets as well as Pennsylvania and New York avenues, grinding traffic to a standstill across wide swaths of downtown south of Dupont Circle.
"If commuters had not left before the incident got into high gear, they can't go anywhere," said John Townsend, manager of public and government relations for AAA Mid-Atlantic, who was looking down on the scene from his office. "It's just absolute gridlock. There's no traffic moving in and out of this vicinity." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18505-2005Jan18.html