Watch The Washington Post clinically dismantle various White House claims about the Lafayette Square debacle
A week ago, federal law enforcement forcibly removed a group of protesters from the edge of Lafayette Square using tear gas, "stinger" grenades with rubber pellets, flash-bangs, and other irritants, shortly before President Trump walked through the cleared area for a short photo op in front of a church, where he brandished somebody else's Bible.
In the week since, the White House, U.S. Park Police, and Attorney General William Barr have given various, shifting accounts of what happened. Most of them strain credulity, The Washington Post demonstrates in a 12-minute video painstakingly reconstructing that hour on the evening of June 1 from dozens of videos, police radio communications, and other records.
Barr and the White House claim the protesters were violent — that appears to be false, though one or two are captured throwing water bottles at the heavily armored police. The White House, Trump's campaign, the U.S. Park Police's acting chief, and Barr have all insisted "tear gas" wasn't used, and that's false both in the broader sense that the PepperBalls whose use Barr acknowledges are a form of chemical tear gas and also in the narrow sense, given compelling evidence that CS tear gas canisters were fired, possibly by Bureau of Prisons riot guards.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Barr and the White House now claim that pushing protesters back from Lafayette Square was not related to Trump's photo op excursion, and while it may be true that U.S. Park Police had planned to expand the perimeter anyway, it seems unlikely at best that the riot tactics used were not connected to Trump's imminent stroll. Longtime U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer told the Post that moving the perimeter would normally have been done before dawn, when the square was empty.
Trump's photo op, and the police violence that preceded it, led to condemnation from former military leaders, current and former politicians, and normally friendly columnists; it ramped up the sizes of the protests nationwide; and it coincided with a serious hit to Trump's poll numbers. It seems like a defining moment in a presidency full of them, but as GOP pollster Whit Ayres reminds Politico, the election is still five months away, and "five months ago was before a pandemic, before racial unrest, before an economic collapse, and before impeachment."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
7 drinks for every winter need possible
The Week Recommends Including a variety of base spirits and a range of temperatures
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
'We have made it a crime for most refugees to want the American dream'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Was the Azerbaijan Airlines plane shot down?
Today's Big Question Multiple sources claim Russian anti-aircraft missile damaged passenger jet, leading to Christmas Day crash that killed at least 38
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Putin says Russia isn't weakened by Syria setback
Speed Read Russia had been one of the key backers of Syria's ousted Assad regime
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Georgia DA Fani Willis removed from Trump case
Speed Read Willis had been prosecuting the election interference case against the president-elect
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Democrats blame 'President Musk' for looming shutdown
Speed Read The House of Representatives rejected a spending package that would've funding the government into 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdown
Speed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdown
Speed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorism
Speed Read Magnione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ex-FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about Bidens
Speed Read Alexander Smirnov claimed that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
South Korea impeaches president, eyes charges
Speed Read Yoon Suk Yeol faces investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published