Report Finds Lafayette Park Cleared for Fence Installation, Not For Trump Church Visit
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A government report released Wednesday found that the U.S. Park Police (USPP) cleared protesters from Lafayette Park near the White House on June 1, 2020 to allow contractors to install security fencing; not because then-President Donald Trump wanted to walk to a nearby church for a photo. The report also found that the USPP "begun developing its operational plan" and that "the fencing contractor had arrived in the park" hours before anyone knew of Trump's plan to walk to the church. At the time, many Democratic lawmakers, some Republican lawmakers and several media outlets including the New York Times (Lean Left bias), NPR (Center bias) and USA Today (Center bias) framed the clash between law enforcement and protesters as a result of Trump's decision to walk to the church. After the report's release, Trump thanked the inspector general in a statement “for completely and totally exonerating me in the clearing of Lafayette Park!”
Some coverage from the left and center highlighted the fact that some D.C. officers and BOP officers used chemical agents to clear the area. Many right-rated sources highlighted other outlets who had initially framed the clearing as a result of Trump's visit to the church, accusing them of clear anti-Trump bias and factual inaccuracies.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Police did not clear protesters from Lafayette Park for Trump photo op, inspector general findsA government report concludes that federal police did not clear protesters from Lafayette Park near the White House last summer so then-President Donald Trump could walk to a nearby church for a photo op.
The report, released Wednesday by Interior Department Inspector General Mark Lee Greenblatt, says U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service determined it was necessary to remove protesters from the area in and around the park last June 1, so contractors could install security fencing.
Federal police didn't learn of Trump's plans to walk through the park and examine...
From the Left
Report: Park Police didn’t clear Lafayette Square protesters for Trump visitWhen the U.S. Park Police led law enforcement officers into a crowd of mostly peaceful protesters outside Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020, including officers equipped with chemical irritants and officers on horseback, they did so as part of a plan made days earlier to build a fence around the park to protect officers, not to facilitate the visit minutes later by President Donald Trump to a nearby church, an inspector general’s report released Wednesday concluded.
The report also found that D.C. police officers fired tear gas at protesters as...
From the Right
Police Cleared Lafayette Park to Install Fencing, Not for Trump Photo-Op, IG Report ConcludesFederal 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.
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