National Guard major will dispute top administration officials over decision to clear protesters near White House
Washington (CNN)A top National Guard official will tell Congress that the widely criticized decision to forcefully clear protesters from a park outside the White House last month was made even though demonstrators were acting peacefully, a view at odds with public comments by top Trump administration officials.
The prepared testimony of DC National Guard Major Adam D. DeMarco, who is set to appear before a hearing on Tuesday, challenges Attorney General William Barr's account of the dispersal.
"The demonstrators were behaving peacefully, exercising their First Amendment rights," DeMarco is expected to say, adding he was surprised the clearing operation began well in advance of a 7 p.m. ET curfew set by Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Barr has previously defended the use of force to clear the protesters, saying his decision to disperse protesters followed signs that the crowd was "becoming increasingly unruly." The removal, he said, had nothing to do with a photo-op staged by President Donald Trump minutes later, in which he walked across Lafayette Square to hold a Bible in front of St. John's Episcopal Church, which had suffered damage in protests the night before.
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http://www.cnn.com/2020/07/27/politics/white-house-protest-church/index.html
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