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The US Secret Service requested a Blackhawk helicopter with a fast-deployment commando team to circle the White House after protesters knocked down barriers in May.

The breach on Monday 29 to the outer fence caused Secret Service agents to rush President Trump to an underground bunker in the White House used in years past to protect against the possibility of terrorist attacks while protests raged across the street over George Floyd's death.

Trump and his family were left 'rattled' by the episode, though it is not clear what specifically prompted the Secret Service to take the extraordinary measure, The New York Times reported at the time.

In reaction to the breach, the secret service requested an helicopter from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection that could be deployed in a situation requiring a  rapid-response to the growing demonstrations focused around the White House. 

Pictured: An undated photograph shows the White House in Washington, DC

Pictured: A Blackhawk helicopter in an undated photograph can be seen being used in a rescue operation

The Secret Service form a line outside the White House as agitators attempt to breach their barricade during a protest over the death of George Floyd on Saturday

A protester holds his hands up as police officers enter Lafayette Park on Saturday during a demonstration against the death in Minneapolis police custody of black man George Floyds

The Secret Service pointed out in the letter that they would need 'fast ropes' attached, to deploy a team of six elite soldiers in emergency situations.   

In the discussions between the Secret Services and the CBP, it was decided that the attack helicopter was not necessary, though the CBP did agree to provide live information from a plane surveilling DC, as requested by the Secret Service. 

'Due to the significant and unprecedented events occurring in the National Capital Region, the U.S. Secret Service is requesting the support from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations,' Kimberly Cheatle, assistant director for the Secret Service's Office of Protective Operations, wrote to CBP acting commissioner Mark Morgan on 5 June. 

'CBP's participation in the operational security plan is vital.' 

American oversight, a government watchdog, obtained the letter through a public records request.

President Trump (seen above at the White House on Saturday) was rushed to a secret underground bunker by the Secret Service on Friday night while hundreds protested the death of George Floyd across from the White House

The underground bunker, also known as the President's Emergency Operations Center, has been rarely used since the early days of the 'war on terror.' The above image shows then-Vice President Dick Cheney (right) and then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (left) inside the bunker on September 11, 2001, moments after terrorists hijacked four airliners

The Washington Post cited 'several' officials involved with the plans, who said the plans were also to thwart similar situations of unrest in other parts of the city. 

Secret Service spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan issued a statement without revealing the group's motivations. 

'In support of its protective mission, the U.S. Secret Service routinely requests interagency support from federal partners through formal 'request for assistance' letters,' Milhoan told the Washinton Post in a statement. 

'Due to the significant and unprecedented events occurring and anticipated in the National Capital Region, the agency followed standard protocol to ensure it had the resources and capabilities that might be required to maintain a safe and secure environment for the people and places it protects and the general public.'

The CBP were also similarly reserved in their responses. Declining to answer questions regarding the June 5 letter, they wrote: 'It would not be appropriate to share specific details of every movement our personnel or assets make'.

 'Collaborating with our law enforcement partners, AMO aircrews are capable of providing real-time, live video feeds to ground-based agents giving them situational awareness, maximizing public safety, and minimizing the threat to personnel and assets during national security and public safety events and to transport personnel and supplies as needed,' CBP said in a statement.

Demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd, near the White House on May 31, 2020 in Washington, DC

The CBP is split into two divisions, one which monitors coastlines and borders, and the other which can be tasked with providing birds-eye information on places with large gatherings, such as the Super Bowl and presidential inaugurations.    

Though the CBP are utilised to assist the Secret Service in many of these large-scale operations, this was the first time they were contacted to provide an added element of security to the White House, the Washington Post reported. 

 House Democrats slammed acting Homeland Security secretary Chad Wolf for the June 5 request, saying it undermines the First Amendment and called it a 'gross abuse of authority.  

'This Administration has undermined the First Amendment freedoms of Americans of all races who are rightfully protesting George Floyd's killing,' Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee wrote to Wolf in a June 5 letter.

'The deployment of drones and officers to surveil protests is a gross abuse of authority and is particularly chilling when used against Americans who are protesting law enforcement brutality.'

CBP officials claim that their aircraft do not possess the technology to identify people through facial-recognition but they can pick out individuals wearing backpacks or holding weapons. 

The request for additional overhead security came days after President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron were rushed into the White House bunker Friday night after protesters breached one of the barricades outside of the White House complex.

The first family was taken to the underground location around 7 p.m. after multiple people crossed over fences that had been erected to form a barrier around the White House and Treasury Building, The Washington Post reported.

The large size of the crowd took officials by surprise as hundreds gathered outside the White House, some of them throwing rocks and tugging at police barricades. 

Trump was angry after reports he was hiding in the bunker - some said he was in there up to an hour - and said Wednesday he was down there to inspect it.

'I go down, I've gone down two or three times - all for inspection - and you go there, some day you may need it,' he said Wednesday on Brian Kilmeade's FOX News Radio show. 'I went down. I looked at it. It was during the day, it was not a problem.'

He denied he was brought their for safety.

'It was a false report,' he told Kilmeade.

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