CLAIM: The Biden campaign is repeating a lie that former President Donald Trump tear-gassed peaceful protesters gathered outside of the White House in Lafayette Square for a photo-op.
VERDICT: FALSE. This has been debunked countless times and has been proven false. The inspector general of the U.S. Department of Interior released a report in June 2021 that exonerated Trump from claims that he had tear-gassed peaceful protesters gathered in Lafayette Square in June 2020 to walk through the park to have a photo-op at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
The Biden campaign posted a video in a post on X on Saturday night, claiming that “four years ago,” on that date, “Trump tear gassed peaceful protesters outside the White House.”
Four years ago today, Trump tear gassed peaceful protestors outside the White House pic.twitter.com/jryy1st48P
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) June 2, 2024
The inspector general’s report confirmed Trump’s and former Attorney General William Barr’s version of what had happened that day.
Protests began in and around Lafayette Park on May 29, 2020. On May 30, the USPP [U.S. Park Police] and U.S. Secret Service established a unified command to coordinate the law enforcement response to the protests. From May 30 to 31, at least 49 USPP officers were injured while policing the protests, and Federal and private property was vandalized.
On the morning of June 1, the Secret Service procured antiscale fencing to establish a more secure perimeter around Lafayette Park that was to be delivered and installed that same day. The USPP, in coordination with the Secret Service, determined that it was necessary to clear protesters from the area in and around the park to enable the contractor’s employees to safely install the fence. The USPP planned to implement the operation as soon as the fencing materials and sufficient law enforcement officers arrived at the park. Six other law enforcement agencies assisted the USPP and the Secret Service in the operation to clear and secure areas near the park.
The operation began at 6:23 p.m. and was completed by 6:50 p.m. Shorty thereafter, at 7:01 p.m., President Trump walked from the White House through Lafayette Park to St. John’s Church. At 7:30 p.m., the contractor began assembling and installing the antiscale fence and completed the work by approximately 12:30 a.m. on June 2.
“We did not obtain evidence suggesting that the USPP cleared Lafayette Park so the President could visit St. John’s Church,” the report continues.
The report from the inspector general also found that tear gas had been used by the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, under Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser. Bowser has defended using tear gas on protesters in order to clear the crowd.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow pointed out in his book, Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media’s Hidden Deals and Secret Corruption, that Trump’s walk from the White House through Lafayette Square to St. John’s Episcopal Church became a “brief obsession” for the news media.
Continue: Breitbart.com
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