WASHINGTON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Two protesters were arrested outside the White House on Thursday for "burning an American flag outside the limits of a permit that had been issued by the National Park Service," according to the U.S. Secret Service.

One person was arrested for felony assault on a police officer and malicious burning, and the other was arrested for obstructing a police investigation and resisting arrest, said a report of U.S. political website The Hill quoting Secret Service officials.

A group of protesters linked arms after the flag burning and chanted "America was never great," a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential slogan "Make America Great Again," said the report.

The arrests occurred ahead of Trump's "Salute to America" speech at the Lincoln Memorial to celebrate the Independence Day, a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776.