Updated at 8:45 p.m.

D.C. police clashed with protesters at H Street NW near Lafayette Square on Monday afternoon, as officers attempted to remove a tent encampment from the area.

Some eyewitnesses say it appeared that police used chemical irritants on protesters. Police have confirmed the use of pepper spray.

Leight McAlpin was working at an aid station on H Street when police arrived. She says officers wanted to open the street for vehicles. “We had one lane open for busses. We did have the rest of the street,” she said.

When officers on bikes tried to clear the area, McAlpin says there was some violence.

“There was some pushing and shoving with the bikes — the cops pushing and shoving us with the bikes. At that point, people who were knocked down and had to fight back, [they] fought back.” McAlpin says she and her entire team were hit with pepper spray.

Crowds in the area have since swelled to more than 100 people after activists issued a call for people to come provide support.

“We put out the call for people to come down here and help us, and the marchers came out and sent the cops out,” McAlpin said.

Black Lives Matter D.C. and Freedom Fighters D.C. tweeted calls for people to come out to Black Lives Matter Plaza.

Black Lives Matter DC tweeted that police were pepper-spraying and arresting protesters, and retweeted footage showing officers clearing protesters from the street.

Ward 2 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner James Harnett says he was walking through the area around 3 p.m. when he says he heard “a bit of ruckus” toward the southern end of Black Lives Matter Plaza. He observed about half a dozen people running around looking for water and milk after police had apparently sprayed their faces with some kind of chemical irritant, Harnett says.

Harnett says he saw what looked like between 50 and 80 Metropolitan Police Department officers as well as around 50 protesters. A few people held signs, per Harnett, though they did not appear to be part of an organized demonstration.

Harnett says it was unclear what led to the confrontation, but he was taken aback by the scene after weeks of peaceful protests with little police intervention. “It seems as though they had decided there was something that they wanted to interfere with, and it was just a response that I wasn’t expecting to run into,” he says.

An MPD spokesperson says the department made an arrest for an assault on an officer on the 1500 block of H Street NW around 2:57 p.m., but did not have more details and could not confirm whether the incident was connected to any demonstrations in the vicinity.

The Washington Post reported that the confrontation began after city officials tried to clear out a series of tents that had been set up along H Street NW, which D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said were “creating a potential safety hazard.” MPD confirmed the use of pepper spray to the Post. Newsham told the Post that two officers were assaulted, and that police arrested two people.

On social media, users shared similar reports of escalation and posted footage from the area. One user on Twitter named Jarrod Daytona posted a video showing police clearing H Street NW.

Lafayette Square was the scene of tense confrontations between police and protesters earlier this month during protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and federal law enforcement used chemical irritants to clear demonstrators from the area on June 1 so President Donald Trump could take a photo at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

The confrontation on Monday comes after the D.C. Council passed an emergency police reform bill by unanimous vote that prohibits police from using tear gas, rubber bullets, stun grenades, and riot gear to disperse protesters, among other requirements. The bill has been sent to Mayor Muriel Bowser for review and has not yet taken effect.

MPD did not immediately respond to DCist’s request for comment on alleged police use of chemical irritants or riot gear on Monday.

This story has been updated with additional comment.