Media Lied: Park Police Confirm No Tear Gas or Flash-Bangs Used for Trump Church Visit

We shouldn't be surprised that the media will take advantage of every opportunity to paint President Trump in a negative light.

Zero Hegde was among the first to report on the story:

As The Epoch Times' Mimi Nguyen Ly reports, authorities did not use tear gas in efforts to hold back protesters, some of whom were violent, at Lafayette Park ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to St. John’s Church on Monday, according to the United States Park Police’s (USPP) acting chief.

“No tear gas was used by USPP officers or other assisting law enforcement partners to close the area at Lafayette Park,” Gregory Monahan said in a statement released on Tuesday. Monahan’s account contradicts media reports from the day that said tear gas was used to dispel demonstrators prior to Trump’s trip to the church, which was damaged by arsonists amid late-night protests on Sunday.

The USPP was working with the Secret Service to install temporary fencing inside Lafayette Park on Monday, ahead of a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew imposed by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.

At 6:33 p.m. violent protesters on H Street NW started to throw “projectiles including bricks, frozen water bottles, and caustic liquid,” Monahan said.

“The protesters also climbed onto a historic building at the north end of Lafayette Park that was destroyed by arson days prior.”

Officers found “caches of glass bottles, baseball bats, and metal poles hidden along the street,” and that “intelligence had revealed calls for violence against the police,” Monahan added. To stop the violence, the USPP followed “established policy” and issued three warnings over a loudspeaker telling the demonstrators on H Street to leave the area, Monahan said.

“Horse mounted patrol, Civil Disturbance Units, and additional personnel were used to clear the area,” the USPP acting chief continued.

“As many of the protesters became more combative, continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers’ weapons, officers then employed the use of smoke canisters and pepper balls.”

Protesters run as riot police fire smoke canisters and move on demonstrators to clear Lafayette Park and the area around it across from the White House in Washington on June 1, 2020. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

After the area was closed at the park—with no use of tear gas—a temporary fence was installed in the area, Monahan said. The USPP did not make any arrests throughout the demonstrations.

“The USPP will always support peaceful assembly but cannot tolerate violence to citizens or officers or damage to our nation’s resources that we are entrusted to protect,” he said.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters on Tuesday that, “There was a plan to expand the perimeter from H Street to I Street based on the events as they had unfolded the night before.” Conway also said that Trump was not the one to make the decision on how to secure his movement to the church. “Clearly the president doesn’t know how law enforcement is handling his movements,” she said.

Demonstrations over four days prior to Monday in Lafayette Park and across the National Mall had “included activities that were not part of a peaceful protest” which caused 51 USPP officers to suffer injuries—11 of whom were taken to the hospital and released, and three of whom were admitted, the USPP statement read. Memorials and monuments were defaced and public property was also destroyed.

Multiple media outlets characterized Trump’s visit to the church as a “photo opportunity.” Conway dismissed the characterization on Tuesday.

“I think the words ‘photo-op’ itself—you’re looking in somebody’s heart and wondering and second-guessing why they would go over there,” she said.

“Is it a photo-op because a photo was taken while the president of the United States was in front of a church where we went on Inauguration Day where every president has gone for more than two centuries?” Conway asked. “I think that itself is a mischaracterization, I know it ended up being the ‘Sesame Street’ Grover word of the day. But that doesn’t make it right and it doesn’t make it true.”

“Again I’m going to say—different faith leaders, anybody, frankly, let’s say somebody who’s an atheist calling into question somebody else’s faith I think is a very fraught proposition,” Conway later added. “And this is a president who just now, moments ago, in the Oval office, signed an executive order on religious liberty for the entire world.

“That builds on his work last September, the United Nations General Assembly, where President Trump became the first president in American history to address the United Nations General Assembly thusly that way on international religious freedom.”

President Trump has been clear about his commitment to Christians and religious rights at large.

However, the media wants to portray this as a photo opp.

Will they accuse Joe Biden of the same for attending George Floyd's funeral?

Was NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio just wanting a photo opp when he appeared at a memorial for Floyd? 

The media will make excuses for Democrats all day long, but President Trump has been clear about who he is and what he supports since the very beginning... and that's YOU, the American people!

The media will spend an entire news cycle criticizing the President for holding up a Bible, but will they put rioters under the same scrutiny for burning down the church, let alone entire cities?

By all appearances, the media seem more intent to defend lawlessness than the President of the United States, who wants to restore law and order.

The Daily Caller confirms the Park Police's claims that no tear gas was used:

The United States Park Police (USPP) claims it did not deploy tear gas to clear Lafayette Park of protesters ahead of President Donald Trump’s walk from the White house to St. John’s church Monday.

Trump came under fire for the walk after journalists and others alleged the police had used tear gas to clear peaceful protesters out of the way so the president could do a photo op at the church. The USPP at first failed to clarify whether tear gas was used for what many describe as Trump’s “PR stunt.” 

The USPP now says that it did use irritants to disperse the crowd, like smoke canisters and pepper balls, but not tear gas specifically. As noted by Daily Caller reporters, the protests Monday night in Washington D.C. were largely peaceful. 

“To curtail the violence that was underway, the USPP, following established policy, issued three warnings over a loudspeaker to alert demonstrators on H Street to evacuate the area,” the USPP said in a statement. “As many of the protesters 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 to close the area of Lafayette Park,” the agency asserted.The Park Police also claim they had discovered caches of baseball bats, metal bars and glass bottles hidden on the street.

Trump entered Lafayette Square, which borders the northern White House grounds, shortly before the 7:00 p.m. curfew began Monday night. When he arrived at St. John’s church, he pulled out a bible and remained there for pictures. Every U.S. president since James Madison has prayed in the church, and rioters attempted to burn it down Sunday night.

It's also important to note that rioters were there the night before.

They burned the church as well as local businesses.

Many rioters were attempting to break down the barricade around the White House.

It's a shame that our national media is making excuses for people who are breaking the law, rather than the President who is trying to restore hope, law, and order to the nation.