CHICAGO, May 30 (UPI) -- The White House media, trying to cover the president at a Chicago barbecue, had a standoff during the weekend with Louis Farrakhan's followers, reporters say.
President Barack Obama and his family were in Chicago for the Memorial Day, and were attending a barbecue Saturday not far from their home. Meanwhile, the White House press corps and their van were out on the street.
Apparently, they were standing outside the home of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, reporters said.
The media presence soon drew the attention of what reporters believed were Farrakhan security people, men known as the "Fruits of Islam."
After an exchange between a Secret Service agent, at least a dozen Fruits of Islam were watching the press van, into which the reporters had retreated. The Fruits of Islam photographed reporters, the van and its plates, reporters said.
The standoff ended when a Detroit minister, who had been following the incident online, called Farrakhan and his son and explained, reporters said.
"I told him you were good people," the Rev. Gary Hunter of Detroit told one reporter by phone. "He said he didn't know you all were just waiting for the president."
