Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley declared that the National Guard and active-duty troops were not deployed against peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square a month ago so that President Trump could enjoy a photo opportunity in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
“National Guard personnel were not engaged in clearing protesters in Lafayette Square,” Esper said Thursday at a House Armed Services Committee hearing more than a month after 31 Democrats called on the defense officials to explain their actions.
Esper emphasized that the 1,700 active-duty military members on standby in Virginia were not used and that the 5,000 Guard members did not engage protesters.
Esper also said that those Guard members at Lafayette Square remained in a “static role” behind local law enforcement.
“The Guard did not shoot rubber bullets. The Guard did not deploy chemical agents,” Esper said in his opening statement.
The scene and the aftermath of the death of George Floyd has been the source of much controversy surrounding the use of the military in a civilian capacity, as well as the use of force against peaceful protesters.
Milley also said that at no time was he in command of any forces that responded to protesters. He also sympathized with the First Amendment rights of protesters incensed by Floyd’s death.
“George Floyd’s death amplified the pain, the frustration, and the fear that so many of our fellow Americans live with day in and day out,” he said. “I am personally outraged by George Floyd’s brutal and senseless killing.”
In recent weeks, witnesses in Congress testified that law enforcement personnel shoved protesters as they ran away while chemical irritants were fired ahead of a 7 p.m. curfew.
Later that day, Trump, Esper, Milley, and others walked quietly to the church for a photo, an act the military men later regretted doing.
The top defense officials dodged testimony for several weeks as the Pentagon declared they were not refusing to testify. While discussions with HASC continued, the Pentagon provided Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville, and D.C. National Guard Commanding Gen. William Walker.
But HASC Democrats were not satisfied until Esper and Milley testified.
Chairman Adam Smith said the purpose of the hearing was to discuss the politicization of armed forces and when the military should be used in a civilian capacity.
“I am very concerned about the Department of Defense becoming unduly politicized,” the Washington Democrat said in his opening statement. “I want to make sure that it doesn’t happen, because you make bad decisions in that environment.”
The 31 Democrats who first demanded the appearance had accused the Pentagon and federal law enforcement officials of preventing Americans from exercising their First Amendment rights peacefully.
On the morning of the Lafayette Park incident on June 1, a leaked call between Trump and governors revealed Trump’s call for overwhelming force to crush dissent and quell violent protests.
During the call, both Esper and Milley encouraged governors to use the National Guard to “dominate the battle space” and maintain law and order.
“You have to dominate. If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time,” President Trump said on the call.
Referring to protesters, he continued: “They’re going to run over you. You’re going to look like a bunch of jerks.”
Within days of the June 1 event, a litany of former defense officials, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell and former Trump Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, condemned Trump’s “politicization” of the military.
Both Esper and Milley spoke out against their involvement and broke with Trump, threatening their own positions.
In a June 3 Pentagon press briefing, Esper said he did not support the president’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act.
Milley, in a commencement speech to the National Defense University, said, “I should not have been there,” when describing the Lafayette Park incident.
Though Milley avoided being photographed with the president in front of the church, images were circulated of him in military uniform making the walk alongside Trump.
In addition to the National Guard troops backing up D.C. police at Lafayette Park, active-duty military from Fort Bragg and Fort Carson had been flown in and were standing by on the outskirts of Washington but were not used.
