Watch The Washington Post clinically dismantle various White House claims about the Lafayette Square debacle

Federal prison riot guards
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Washington Post)

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.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

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.