Barr reportedly personally ordered police to clear protesters from Lafayette Square

(Image credit: Joshua Roberts/Getty Image)

published 2 June 2020

The order to disperse peaceful protesters Monday from Lafayette Square came personally from Attorney General William Barr, an anonymous Justice Department official told The Washington Post on Tuesday.

Federal police forced the demonstrators out of the area with, among other things, smoke canisters and riot shields shortly before President Trump walked through on his way to the nearby historic St. John's Church, where he posed for photos while holding a Bible. In the afternoon before Trump left the White House, Barr — who the president reportedly directed to lead the response to the capital's unrest — went to check out the scene, spoke with law enforcement officials on the ground, and got his message across.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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