The Biden campaign continues to propagate a falsehood regarding former President Donald Trump tear-gassing peaceful protesters outside the White House in Lafayette Square for a photo opportunity. This claim has been thoroughly discredited and proven to be untrue. In June 2021, the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Interior issued a report that cleared Trump of any wrongdoing in relation to the alleged tear-gassing incident at Lafayette Square in June 2020, which was said to have been done to facilitate a photo opportunity at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
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 report from the inspector general validated the accounts provided by Trump and former Attorney General William Barr regarding the events of 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 inspector general’s report additionally discovered that the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, employed tear gas, as stated by the Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser. Bowser justified the use of tear gas to disperse the protesters and restore order.