Attorney General Barr ordered park protesters cleared before Trump's visit to St. John's church
Kevin Johnson USA TODAYAttorney General William Barr ordered protesters to be cleared from a park near the White House, setting the stage for authorities to break up a peaceful demonstration ahead of President Trump's surprise visit to a nearby church, a senior Justice Department official said Tuesday.
The official, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the decision to expand the security perimeter around Lafayette Square was made Monday morning, after previous protests scorched the area – and before it was known that Trump would walk to historic St. John's Church Monday evening.
The official said Barr was "surprised" that the security perimeter had not been expanded when he visited the area just before Trump's scheduled speech at the White House. It was then, the source said, that Barr was informed of Trump's plan to visit the church, prompting the attorney general to order federal authorities to clear the area of protesters.
Historic church: St. John's Church has intersected with Donald Trump at key moments of his presidency
Barr was not involved in planning the staged photo that enraged church officials and was condemned by some lawmakers, the official said.
Earlier Tuesday, Barr vowed that Monday's show of force – involving more than a dozen law-enforcement agencies – was only a warm-up for what is to come.
After offering thanks Tuesday to a legion of military and law enforcement officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, for their efforts Monday, Barr warned that "even greater law enforcement resources" would be deployed to keep the peace in D.C.
"The most basic function of government is to provide security for people to live their lives and exercise their rights, and we will meet that responsibility here in the nation’s capital," Barr said in a statement.
In addition to military units, the attorney general referred to a long list of forces that would probably make a return appearance Tuesday night. At least a dozen agencies in all have been thrust into the mix, with more to come.
Among them: the FBI; the Secret Service; the U.S. Park Police; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Marshals Service; the U.S. Capitol Police; at least two Department of Homeland Security agencies; the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and "others."
'Domination': Trump calls for officials to 'dominate the streets' in response to protests
The government's aggressive enforcement action Monday prompted criticism from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and religious leaders assailed President Donald Trump for clearing the streets so he could be photographed in front of St. John's Church, a historic worship center on the edge of Lafayette Square, just north of the White House.
D.C., like dozens of other cities, has been the scene of violent protests after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police. An officer who pinned Floyd's neck to the ground with his knee was charged with murder and manslaughter.
Critics hammered Trump for using police, armed with flash grenades and shields, to clear protesters from the Lafayette Square area to provide him cover for Monday night's brief event outside the church, where the president posed with a Bible.
"Tear-gassing peaceful protesters without provocation just so that the president could pose for photos outside a church dishonors every value that faith teaches us," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement.
The U.S. Park Police has disputed that tear gas was used on the crowd.
Yet the attorney general appeared more than satisfied with the outcome.
“Last night was a more peaceful night in the District of Columbia," Barr said. "Working together, federal and local law enforcement made significant progress in restoring order to the nation’s capital."
Hiding out: Trump briefly taken to underground bunker as protests grew outside White House
Via PakapNews