The deployment of federal agents on the streets during civil unrest, the use of chemical agents, federal civil rights charges against local police, and an attorney general in the FBI command post — William Barr has seen it all before. During his previous tenure as attorney general, he was in the thick of it.
On April 29, 1992, in the middle of his first tour as attorney general, the Rodney King protests erupted in Los Angeles. The spark that set off these disturbances was the acquittal, in local court, of police officers who had been videotaped beating King.
On the evening of May 1, 1992, the third day of continued demonstrations, Barr ordered a force of several thousand federal agents into Los Angeles to help control the situation. In addition to the FBI, the force included DEA agents, U.S. Marshalls, and others. A rotating cadre of FBI special agents in charge, under the overall command of Oliver “Buck” Revel, was sent in to run the feds’ field command post in LA. At the same time, Barr’s Justice Department initiated a federal civil rights case against the just-acquitted police officers.
Although limited to just one city, the 1992 riots were, in a sense, even worse than today’s multicity unrest. The number killed then was 63 — and the injured more than 2,380. The presence of the federal agents on the ground helped stop the looting after two days, although sniping at first responders continued for almost a week. The FBI faced a challenge that it had met before and would meet again. While working beside the police to restore public order, it was also investigating members of the LAPD for the civil rights violations. But the FBI proved then, and will again, that it can “walk and chew gum.”
The civil rights charges, violations of Title 18, U.S.C., Deprivation of Rights under Color of Law, concerns a person under the authority of state or local law acting to deprive someone of their constitutional rights. It is the statute that usually covers incidents of police brutality. The charges were made, and the case went to court. In April 1993, three months after Barr left office, two of the LAPD offices were finally found guilty in federal court of depriving King of his civil rights.
By the time of the LA riots, Barr already had a great working relationship with FBI agents and management. Only three days after becoming the acting attorney general in August 1991, he was present in the FBI’s forward command post, when he authorized the intervention of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team at the Talladega Federal Correctional Institution, where a large number of hostages were under threat. Various chemical agents were employed in the operation, but the standoff was resolved without any loss of life. Barr’s reputation for fearlessness, along with his appreciation of the FBI’s capabilities, both rose out of the smoke of the Talladega prison siege.
In leading the federal response to the current threat to law and order, Barr is leaning on lessons learned. Within hours on May 25, as in the Rodney King response, his Justice Department began a criminal civil rights inquiry into the death, at the hands of police, of George Floyd, using the same “color of law” statutes.
At the same time, Barr has issued a directive that the agents of the Washington Field Office deploy on the streets of Washington in a “show of force.” Among other DOJ components joining them “on the street” is the Bureau of Prison’s Special Operations Response Teams, a much-improved riot response unit thanks in part to Barr’s initiatives after Talladega. Barr continued to demonstrate his fearlessness by walking around the streets of Washington to observe the federal response. Current FBI officials tell us that he is now a regular in the Washington Field Office’s command post. But in a sense, he’s been there before.
The actions for which he was praised in the past (judicious use of non-lethal chemical agents, putting federal investigators “on the street,” and being present in their command post) now evoke criticism from some quarters. A sign of the times, perhaps. But, if true to past form, Bill Barr will proceed fearlessly. The right man, well prepared, for this moment.
Tom Baker spent 33 years in the FBI, including during William Barr’s first turn as attorney general.
