Hearing on Protests Across U.S. and Lafayette Square Incident

Acting U.S. Park Police Chief Gregory Monahan testified on the agency’s role in clearing protesters in Lafayette Square in June 2020 so that President Trump could pose for a photograph at St. John’s Church nearby. Chief Monahan said protesters were cleared from the area to erect fencing meant to stop violence that had occurred in the area the days leading up to the incident. He denied the order to clear the park was connected to the presidential picture at the church and said Park Police and members of the Secret Service used “tremendous restraint.” Major Adam DeMarco of the District of Columbia National Guard, who was acting as a liaison between Park Police and the National Guard that day, also testified under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act. Major DeMarco stated he saw unidentified law enforcement use pepper balls to disperse protesters that day. He said in his opening statement the events were “deeply disturbing” and that demonstrators were “behaving peacefully.” See the video HERE