A National Guard officer contradicts the Trump administration’s statements about the clearing of a protest near the White House in his pre-written remarks to be delivered before Congress on Tuesday.
Army National Guard Maj. Adam DeMarco, who was on the scene as U.S. Park Police cleared protesters from Lafayette Park on June 1 ahead of President Trump’s short walk to St. John’s Church for a photo opportunity, said the demonstrators were “behaving peacefully” and should not have been forcibly cleared from the area.
“From what I could observe, the demonstrators were behaving peacefully,” DeMarco wrote, later adding, “The events I witnessed at Lafayette Square on the evening of June 1 were deeply disturbing to me, and to fellow National Guardsmen. Having served in a combat zone, and understanding how to assess threat environments, at no time did I feel threatened by the protestors or assess them to be violent.”
Trump administration officials, including Attorney General William Barr, said the protesters were violent and needed to be pushed back from the area surrounding the White House. The administration was criticized for abruptly clearing the crowd for what appeared to be a photo-op for Trump in front of St. John’s Church, which had been burned and vandalized in the riots the night before.
The inspectors general from the Justice Department and Homeland Security Department announced on Thursday they will investigate the actions by federal law enforcement in both Portland and Washington, D.C.
DeMarco said the announcements made by the U.S. Park Police and the National Guard urging the crowd to disperse were “barely audible” and that officers moved in shortly after. He also said that he believed tear gas was used on the protesters, despite being told that the clouds were only “stage smoke.”
He is set to testify about his experience at the protest on Tuesday before the House Natural Resources Committee. Gregory Monahan, acting chief of the U.S. Park Police Police, will also testify.
