The Justice Department Inspector General released its report about the officers sent into a group of peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., so Donald Trump could conduct a photo-op when he was president
NBC News justice reporter Ryan Reilly pointed out one excerpt: "Allowing federal law enforcement to operate with anonymity all but eliminates accountability when force is inevitably used against demonstrators."
He also cited, "A senior Justice Department official credited [Bill] Barr with the idea of bringing in federal prison corrections officers, calling it an example of Barr’s 'outside the box' thinking."
Read Also: History must record Trump's plan for a nationwide 'Kent State' massacre
"Remember that day Trump had to walk across the street from the White House, lift a Bible to the heavens, and have his photo taken? Happy to see AG Bill Barr's leadership that day roundly criticized in this new IG report," confessed teacher Rodney Wilson.
A 2021 report claimed that the U.S. Park Police didn't clear the square of protesters so Trump could host a photo op.
“The evidence we obtained did not support a finding that the USPP (United States Park Police) cleared the park to allow the President to survey the damage and walk to St. John’s Church," the preliminary report said.
In fact, the Park Police and Secret Service didn't clear the square at all. The new report shows Barr used others to conduct the operation.
“Instead, the evidence we reviewed showed that the USPP cleared the park to allow the contractor to safely install the antiscale fencing in response to destruction of property and injury to officers occurring on May 30 and 31,” the 2021 report claimed.
The new inspector general report says the fence wasn't going to be put up until the morning of June 3. Trump's photo-op was on June 1.
NBC reporter Garrett Haake took photos of the armed riot police as reporters asked who they worked for. "All insignias and name plates have been removed," he reported at the time. The report said that the Bureau of Prisons "declined to verify whether the armed men photographed facing off with peaceful demonstrators Wednesday did, in fact, work for BOP."
The inspector general wrote that the "BOP deployed the personnel without vests or jackets clearly identifying them as BOP law enforcement personnel. BOP does not traditionally deploy personnel in a public-facing role outside the prison setting."
The officers also told the IG they were given no guidance what the rules were when facing off against the crowds.
In an interview with a BOP officer, he explained that for "an inmate we know our use of force, we know exactly what we can and can't do when an inmate does something in a facility. A little bit different out here, with a teenager and a cellphone."
One Alaska voter recalled Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) "assured us that it was Democrats burning down our cities."
"The volume of illegal orders from Bill Barr clearing Lafayette Square are stunning," said James DeSarno. "The lack of accountability is the roadmap for civil rights being stripped away."
Intelligence professional Eric Garland noted that Barr also deployed "approximately 500 [Washington Field Office] Special Agents to patrol designated areas."
On June 1, Barr told FBI officials he was annoyed by the expanded perimeter on H Street, the report said. "From the beginning, the U.S. Park Police intended" to erect anti-scale fencing, and Barr thought law enforcement would be stationed at I Street to protect St. John's Church. The Department began preparing for the second perimeter the evening of June 2, but the Park Police head urged they wait until the morning of June 3.
"Instead, at approximately midnight on June 2, the FBI deployed eight [Washington Field Office] special agents in plain clothes to protect St. John's Church," the report continues. "An FBI Hostage Rescue Team unit also deployed to serve as a quick reaction force in support of the WFO agents. One June 3, at the direction of the attorney general [Barr]" they "initiated an operation—using BOP, FBI, DHS and DNCG personnel, but with no deployment by USSS or USPP personnel—to establish a new security perimeter at I Street."
This reportedly means that Trump told Barr to act, but they all failed to inform the U.S. Secret Service and the Park Police, both of which monitor the area daily and were doing so amid the protests.
"Bill Barr declined to explain himself. So did a bunch of others," Garland said.
