White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany expressed her support for the tactics law enforcement officials used to disperse a crowd near the White House to clear a path for President Trump to walk to a nearby church.
McEnany defended the officers’ use of force, although some controversy has emerged about what tactics were used, to move protesters out of Lafayette Park on Monday so that the president could walk to St. John’s Episcopal Church a day after it had been set on fire during the demonstrations following the death of George Floyd.
“I think U.S. park services, when having bricks thrown at them and frozen water bottles, had the right to act. They acted with the appropriate level of force to protect themselves and to protect the average citizenry and to protect the peaceful protesters who were among them as well,” she explained.
McEnany specifically noted throughout the briefing that law enforcement officials deny the claim that tear gas was used to disperse the protesters, however, there is video of chemical agents being used.
“Well, it wasn’t tear gas, I would note,” she said. “What they used was a way to target those who were being violent. They used the minimal force they could to ensure that that situation was safe to ensure St. John’s Church would not burn a second night in a row and to ensure no officers were injured in the manner that I listed off that several officers have been injured and shot at in the course of these riots.”
Park Police acting Chief Gregory Monahan issued a statement denying the reports that law enforcement agencies used tear gas.
“As many of the protestors became more combative, continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers’ weapons, officers then employed the use of smoke canisters and pepper balls. No tear gas was used by USPP officers or other assisting law enforcement partners to close the area at Lafayette Park. Subsequently, the fence was installed,” he said, noting that protesters were throwing bricks and water bottles and that Park Police had issued three warnings over loudspeakers telling demonstrators to leave the area.
