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Last year saw plenty of civil unrest, protests, and riots. Some of that violence occurred in the nation’s capital, well before the unfortunate events of January 6.
Between May and June of 2020, for example, there were plenty of demonstrations taking place in Washington D.C., and one erupted in an altercation between rioters and law enforcement.
Immediately afterward, the media and people like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris accused then-President Donald Trump of using this violence to his advantage.
But a new report from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Inspector General shows that in fact, none of these accusations were true.
Trump visited St. John’s church in D.C. after it had been set on fire, and the media quickly pounced.
For example, NPR tweeted on June 1 that police “used tear gas and rubber pellets on peaceful protesters” and then “President Trump walked to the church for a photo op.”
Democrat leaders were quick to chime in. Biden responded to the NPR report by tweeting:
And Biden’s eventual running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, added:
However, the DOI’s Inspector General’s report debunks these claims. The report includes “a detailed timeline of relevant actions” concerning police activity, and how and if Trump was involved.
The results were pretty clear:
Moreover, the evidence established that relevant USPP officials had made those decisions and had begun implementing the operational plan several hours before they knew of a potential Presidential visit to the park, which occurred later that day.
As such, we determined that the evidence did not support a finding that the USPP cleared the park on June 1, 2020, so that then President Trump could enter the park.
In other words, the President did not utilize police or military force “for a photo op,” and he certainly never tear-gassed protesters as Harris literally stated.
For his part, Trump has been saying this from the beginning. He supported law enforcement for clearing the area, and commended authorities for saving much of the church.
And in response to the Inspector General’s report, the former President offered his thanks:
Thank you to the Department of the Interior Inspector General for Completely and Totally exonerating me in the clearing of Lafayette Park!
As we have said all along, and it was backed up in today’s highly detailed and professionally written report, our fine Park Police made the decision to clear the park to allow a contractor to safely install antiscale fencing…
Fortunately, we were there to stop the fire from spreading beyond the basement—and it was our great honor and privilege to do so. Again, thank you to the Inspector General!
This is an example of what happens when journalists and politicians run with reports that aren’t accurate.
The evidence proves the claims made by Biden and Harris to be completely false, and the initial reporting by NPR to be unreliable at best. And all this is a big reason why fewer people trust the media.
Once again, it seems Trump was correct in defending himself — and once again, the push to condemn the President backfires on Democrats and the left-wing media.
English (US)