Occupy Congress Protesters Smoke Bomb White House

The number of bombs thrown at the White House by the Tea Party is still at zero.

WASHINGTON – The Secret Service was responding Tuesday night to an escalating protest that may have involved a smoke bomb being thrown over the White House fence.

An estimated 1,000 protesters have gathered. No arrests have been made, but authorities are on alert.

The tense scene outside the White House follows an earlier protest on the West Lawn of the Capitol, in which several hundred protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement decried the influence of corporate money in politics and voice myriad other grievances.

Organizers had touted the rally, known as Occupy Congress, as the largest national gathering of Occupy protesters to date and secured a permit that would have allowed up to 10,000 people to participate. By mid-afternoon, the protest appeared to have fallen far short of those goals.