Police Cleared Lafayette Park to Install Fencing, Not for Trump Photo-Op, IG Report Concludes

Federal officers cleared Black Lives Matter demonstrators from Lafayette Park near the White House in June 2020 in order to install fencing, not to make way for a photo-op for President Trump, the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior said on Wednesday.

Trump critics have alleged that the former president ordered the clearing of the area in order to pose for a photograph outside the adjacent St. John’s Church. Black Lives Matter activists claim that Trump ordered the clearing of demonstrators in an ongoing lawsuit against the Justice Department.