NEW YORK CITY NY
Wednesday, June 03, 2020
Pentagon science adviser quits over security tactics for Trump church photos
By Don Jacobson
President Donald Trump walks from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., on Monday. At the church, Trump posed while holding a Bible. The security tactics used for Trump's walk to the church have generated much controversy. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo
June 3 (UPI) -- A Pentagon adviser has resigned from his post in protest over Defense Secretary Mike Esper's involvement in a controversial photo opportunity and tactics used to snap a picture of President Donald Trump in front of a historic Washington, D.C., church.
James Miller, who served as under secretary of defense for policy from 2012 to 2014, resigned from his position on the Pentagon's science board Tuesday in a letter published by The Washington Post.
Miller cited Monday's photos at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, which were preceded by federal law enforcement officers forcefully clearing peaceful protesters from the area so Trump could walk there. In the photos, Trump is holding a Bible.
Moments earlier, Trump had threatened to deploy active-duty U.S. military troops to states that failed to "solve" their violent demonstrations.
RELATED House defense committee chair demands clarity on potential domestic military use
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called the tactics "shameful" and Rev. Mariann Budde, the district's Episcopal bishop, said she was "outraged" and was given no notice the church would be used "as a prop."
President Donald Trump walks from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., on Monday. At the church, Trump posed while holding a Bible. The security tactics used for Trump's walk to the church have generated much controversy. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI
In his resignation letter, Miller said Esper violated his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution by "visibly supporting" Trump's photo plan.
"Law-abiding protesters just outside the White House were dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets -- not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op" he said. "You (Esper) then accompanied President Trump in walking from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church for that photo."
Trump's actions, Miller said, "violated his oath to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed," as well as the First Amendment right of the people to peaceably assemble.
"You may not have been able to stop President Trump from directing this appalling use of force, but you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it."
Esper told NBC News he didn't know beforehand that Trump would walk to the church. He said he thought they were going to view damage cased by violent protesters and speak with federal troops.
RELATED George Floyd protests: Pentagon moves 1,600 troops to D.C. area
CNN reported that U.S. Attorney General William Barr had ordered the removal of protesters who'd gathered near the White House. Authorities had planned to secure a wide perimeter for the walk, but Barr gave the order for the demonstrators to be cleared when he saw the crowds, CNN's report said.
U.S. Park Police said their move to clear Lafayette Square, north of the White House, before the start a scheduled curfew on Monday was unrelated to Trump's visit to the church.
Some top Republican U.S. Senators have supported Trump's move. A "sense of Congress" resolution condemning his actions failed to achieve unanimous consent after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell objected because it didn't sufficiently condemn rioting.
By Don Jacobson
President Donald Trump walks from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., on Monday. At the church, Trump posed while holding a Bible. The security tactics used for Trump's walk to the church have generated much controversy. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo
June 3 (UPI) -- A Pentagon adviser has resigned from his post in protest over Defense Secretary Mike Esper's involvement in a controversial photo opportunity and tactics used to snap a picture of President Donald Trump in front of a historic Washington, D.C., church.
James Miller, who served as under secretary of defense for policy from 2012 to 2014, resigned from his position on the Pentagon's science board Tuesday in a letter published by The Washington Post.
Miller cited Monday's photos at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, which were preceded by federal law enforcement officers forcefully clearing peaceful protesters from the area so Trump could walk there. In the photos, Trump is holding a Bible.
Moments earlier, Trump had threatened to deploy active-duty U.S. military troops to states that failed to "solve" their violent demonstrations.
RELATED House defense committee chair demands clarity on potential domestic military use
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called the tactics "shameful" and Rev. Mariann Budde, the district's Episcopal bishop, said she was "outraged" and was given no notice the church would be used "as a prop."
President Donald Trump walks from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., on Monday. At the church, Trump posed while holding a Bible. The security tactics used for Trump's walk to the church have generated much controversy. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI
In his resignation letter, Miller said Esper violated his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution by "visibly supporting" Trump's photo plan.
"Law-abiding protesters just outside the White House were dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets -- not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op" he said. "You (Esper) then accompanied President Trump in walking from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church for that photo."
Trump's actions, Miller said, "violated his oath to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed," as well as the First Amendment right of the people to peaceably assemble.
"You may not have been able to stop President Trump from directing this appalling use of force, but you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it."
Esper told NBC News he didn't know beforehand that Trump would walk to the church. He said he thought they were going to view damage cased by violent protesters and speak with federal troops.
RELATED George Floyd protests: Pentagon moves 1,600 troops to D.C. area
CNN reported that U.S. Attorney General William Barr had ordered the removal of protesters who'd gathered near the White House. Authorities had planned to secure a wide perimeter for the walk, but Barr gave the order for the demonstrators to be cleared when he saw the crowds, CNN's report said.
U.S. Park Police said their move to clear Lafayette Square, north of the White House, before the start a scheduled curfew on Monday was unrelated to Trump's visit to the church.
Some top Republican U.S. Senators have supported Trump's move. A "sense of Congress" resolution condemning his actions failed to achieve unanimous consent after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell objected because it didn't sufficiently condemn rioting.
WE ARE ALLIES, WE ARE COMRADES,
WE ARE FELLOW WORKERS TOO
MOST IMPORTANTLY WE ARE IN SOLIDARITY
WITH BLACK LIVES MATTER
WE CALL THAT SOLIDARITY UNIONISM
AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL
Responding to a request to protect black demonstrators, white demonstrators form a perimeter at City Hall in Baltimore on June 1. Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo
AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL
Responding to a request to protect black demonstrators, white demonstrators form a perimeter at City Hall in Baltimore on June 1. Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo
TRAFALGAR SQUARE LONDON
THE WHOLE MILLENNIAL WORLD HAS BECOME WOKE TO IMPERIALISM, RACISM, AND COLONIALISM
THAT THOSE THE EMPIRES HAVE EXPLOITED TO CREATE CAPITALISM HAVE STILL NOT SEEN REPARATIONS WORLD WIDE FOR THE CRIME OF COLONIALISM
BOSTON GENERAL HOSPITAL
ITALY
TRIBAL TERRITORIES
\
PLASTIC BOTTLES VS SWAT
THESE ARE THE DREADED PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES
THEY TERRIFY HEAVILY ARMOURED RIOT COPS
WHO RESPOND IN KIND WITH RUBBER BULLETS, TEARGAS, PEPPERBALLS, BATONS AND SHIELDS WHILE WEARING KEVLAR BODY ARMOUR, HELMETS,
GAS MASKS.
THEY TERRIFY HEAVILY ARMOURED RIOT COPS
WHO RESPOND IN KIND WITH RUBBER BULLETS, TEARGAS, PEPPERBALLS, BATONS AND SHIELDS WHILE WEARING KEVLAR BODY ARMOUR, HELMETS,
GAS MASKS.
YES FOLKS YOU AND I BOTH KNOW
THAT RIOT COPS FEAR OF
PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES,
FULL OR EMPTY,
IS JUST THEIR EXCUSE
FOR BOYS TO USE THEIR TOYS!
NBA coach Gregg Popovich says ‘if Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 percent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people’
Spurs coach and other members of the sports world, like LeBron James and Michael Jordan, have been vocal supporters of protesters
Head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs calls a play during an NBA game. CHRISTIAN PETERSEN
Head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs calls a play during an NBA game. CHRISTIAN PETERSEN
Published: June 2, 2020
“It’s unbelievable. If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 percent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people. But he doesn’t care about bringing people together. ”
That’s future Hall of Fame basketball coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, in an interview with The Nation addressing President Donald Trump’s reaction to the events surrounding the death of George Floyd.
“The thing that strikes me is that we all see this police violence and racism, and we’ve seen it all before, but nothing changes. That’s why these protests have been so explosive. But without leadership and an understanding of what the problem is, there will never be change,” Popovich said. “And white Americans have avoided reckoning with this problem forever, because it’s been our privilege to be able to avoid it. That also has to change.”
The Spurs coach has not been shy about vocalizing his political beliefs in the past, and has been an outspoken Trump critic for years.
See also: Michael Jordan and many current NBA players express their anger and frustration over the death of George Floyd
“It’s unbelievable. If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 percent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people. But he doesn’t care about bringing people together. ”
That’s future Hall of Fame basketball coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, in an interview with The Nation addressing President Donald Trump’s reaction to the events surrounding the death of George Floyd.
“The thing that strikes me is that we all see this police violence and racism, and we’ve seen it all before, but nothing changes. That’s why these protests have been so explosive. But without leadership and an understanding of what the problem is, there will never be change,” Popovich said. “And white Americans have avoided reckoning with this problem forever, because it’s been our privilege to be able to avoid it. That also has to change.”
The Spurs coach has not been shy about vocalizing his political beliefs in the past, and has been an outspoken Trump critic for years.
See also: Michael Jordan and many current NBA players express their anger and frustration over the death of George Floyd
“It’s so clear what needs to be done. We need a president to come out and say simply that ‘black lives matter.’ Just say those three words,” he said.
In recent days, protests have erupted across the U.S. demanding justice for Floyd and calling for an end to racial discrimination in the country. Many athletes, from LeBron James to Michael Jordan, have voiced support for those protesting.
In recent days, protests have erupted across the U.S. demanding justice for Floyd and calling for an end to racial discrimination in the country. Many athletes, from LeBron James to Michael Jordan, have voiced support for those protesting.
U.S. sees calmest protests in days
AS ANGRY PROTESTERS RESPOND TO TRUMPS MILITARY ATTACK ON PEACEFUL PROTESTERS
AS ANGRY PROTESTERS RESPOND TO TRUMPS MILITARY ATTACK ON PEACEFUL PROTESTERS
Published: June 3, 2020 Associated Press
WHITE Protesters denouncing police brutality and systemic racism are kept in place on the Manhattan Bridge by police for hours during a citywide curfew in New York City on June 2, 2020. GETTY IMAGES
WASHINGTON (AP) — Protests were largely peaceful and the nation’s streets were calmer than they have been in days since the killing of George Floyd set off demonstrations that at times brought violence and destruction along with pleas to stop police brutality and injustice against African Americans.
There were scattered reports of looting in New York City overnight, and as of Wednesday morning there had been over 9,000 arrests nationwide since the unrest began following Floyd’s death May 25 in Minneapolis. But there was a marked quiet compared with the unrest of the past few nights, which included fires and shootings in some cities.
The calmer night came as many cities intensified their curfews, with authorities in New York and Washington ordering people off streets while it was still daylight.
A block away from the White House, thousands of demonstrators massed following a crackdown a day earlier when officers on foot and horseback aggressively drove peaceful protesters away from Lafayette Park, clearing the way for President Donald Trump to do a photo op at nearby St. John’s Church. Tuesday’s protesters faced law enforcement personnel who stood behind a black chain-link fence that was put up overnight to block access to the park.
“Last night pushed me way over the edge,” said Jessica DeMaio, 40, of Washington, who attended a Floyd protest Tuesday for the first time. “Being here is better than being at home feeling helpless.”
Pastors at the church prayed with demonstrators and handed out water bottles. The crowd remained in place after the city’s 7 p.m. curfew passed, defying warnings that the response from law enforcement could be even more forceful. But the crowd Tuesday was peaceful, even polite. At one point, the crowd booed when a protester climbed a light post and took down a street sign. A chant went up: “Peaceful protest!”
Pope Francis on Wednesday called for national reconciliation and peace.
Francis said that he has ‘’witnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest’’ in the United States in recent days.
“My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life,’’ the pope said during his weekly Wednesday audience, held in the presence of bishops due to coronavirus restrictions on gatherings.
Trump, meanwhile, amplified his hard-line calls from Monday, when he threatened to send in the military to restore order if governors didn’t do it.
“NYC, CALL UP THE NATIONAL GUARD,” he tweeted. “The lowlifes and losers are ripping you apart. Act fast!”
Thousands of people remained in the streets of New York City Tuesday night, undeterred by an 8 p.m. curfew, though most streets were clear by early Wednesday other than police who were patrolling some areas. Midtown Manhattan was pocked with battered storefronts after Monday’s protests.
Protests also passed across the U.S., including in Los Angeles, Miami, St. Paul, Minnesota, Columbia, South Carolina and Houston, where the police chief talked to peaceful demonstrators, vowing reforms.
“God as my witness, change is coming,” Art Acevedo said. “And we’re going to do it the right way.”
More than 20,000 National Guard members have been called up in 29 states to deal with the violence. New York is not among them, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he does not want the Guard. On Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo called what happened in the city “a disgrace.”
“The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night,” Cuomo said at a briefing in Albany.
He said the mayor underestimated the problem, and the nation’s largest police force was not deployed in sufficient numbers, though the city had said it doubled the usual police presence.
Tuesday marked the eighth straight night of the protests, which began after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck while the handcuffed black man called out that he couldn’t breathe. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been fired and charged with murder.
The mother of George Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, said she wanted the world to know that her little girl lost a good father.
“I want everybody to know that this is what those officers took,” Roxie Washington said during a Minneapolis news conference with her young daughter at her side. “I want justice for him because he was good. No matter what anybody thinks, he was good.”
Some protesters framed the burgeoning movement as a necessity after a string of killings by police.
“It feels like it’s just been an endless cascade of hashtags of black people dying, and it feels like nothing’s really being done by our political leaders to actually enact real change,” said Christine Ohenzuwa, 19, who attended a peaceful protest at the Minnesota state Capitol in St. Paul. “There’s always going to be a breaking point. I think right now, we’re seeing the breaking point around the country.”
“I live in this state. It’s really painful to see what’s going on, but it’s also really important to understand that it’s connected to a system of racial violence,” she said.
Meanwhile, governors and mayors, Republicans and Democrats alike, rejected Trump’s threat to send in the military, with some saying troops would be unnecessary and others questioning whether the government has such authority and warning that such a step would be dangerous.
A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the president is not rushing to send in the military and that his goal was to pressure governors to deploy more National Guard members.
Such use of the military would mark a stunning federal intervention rarely seen in modern American history.
Amid the protests, nine states and the District of Columbia held presidential primaries that tested the nation’s ability to run elections while balancing a pandemic and sweeping social unrest. Joe Biden won hundreds more delegates and was on the cusp of formally securing the Democratic presidential nomination.
Also Tuesday, Minnesota opened an investigation into whether the Minneapolis Police Department has a pattern of discrimination against minorities.
___
Sullivan reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press journalists across the U.S. contributed to this report
WHITE Protesters denouncing police brutality and systemic racism are kept in place on the Manhattan Bridge by police for hours during a citywide curfew in New York City on June 2, 2020. GETTY IMAGES
WASHINGTON (AP) — Protests were largely peaceful and the nation’s streets were calmer than they have been in days since the killing of George Floyd set off demonstrations that at times brought violence and destruction along with pleas to stop police brutality and injustice against African Americans.
There were scattered reports of looting in New York City overnight, and as of Wednesday morning there had been over 9,000 arrests nationwide since the unrest began following Floyd’s death May 25 in Minneapolis. But there was a marked quiet compared with the unrest of the past few nights, which included fires and shootings in some cities.
The calmer night came as many cities intensified their curfews, with authorities in New York and Washington ordering people off streets while it was still daylight.
A block away from the White House, thousands of demonstrators massed following a crackdown a day earlier when officers on foot and horseback aggressively drove peaceful protesters away from Lafayette Park, clearing the way for President Donald Trump to do a photo op at nearby St. John’s Church. Tuesday’s protesters faced law enforcement personnel who stood behind a black chain-link fence that was put up overnight to block access to the park.
“Last night pushed me way over the edge,” said Jessica DeMaio, 40, of Washington, who attended a Floyd protest Tuesday for the first time. “Being here is better than being at home feeling helpless.”
Pastors at the church prayed with demonstrators and handed out water bottles. The crowd remained in place after the city’s 7 p.m. curfew passed, defying warnings that the response from law enforcement could be even more forceful. But the crowd Tuesday was peaceful, even polite. At one point, the crowd booed when a protester climbed a light post and took down a street sign. A chant went up: “Peaceful protest!”
Pope Francis on Wednesday called for national reconciliation and peace.
Francis said that he has ‘’witnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest’’ in the United States in recent days.
“My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life,’’ the pope said during his weekly Wednesday audience, held in the presence of bishops due to coronavirus restrictions on gatherings.
Trump, meanwhile, amplified his hard-line calls from Monday, when he threatened to send in the military to restore order if governors didn’t do it.
“NYC, CALL UP THE NATIONAL GUARD,” he tweeted. “The lowlifes and losers are ripping you apart. Act fast!”
Thousands of people remained in the streets of New York City Tuesday night, undeterred by an 8 p.m. curfew, though most streets were clear by early Wednesday other than police who were patrolling some areas. Midtown Manhattan was pocked with battered storefronts after Monday’s protests.
Protests also passed across the U.S., including in Los Angeles, Miami, St. Paul, Minnesota, Columbia, South Carolina and Houston, where the police chief talked to peaceful demonstrators, vowing reforms.
“God as my witness, change is coming,” Art Acevedo said. “And we’re going to do it the right way.”
More than 20,000 National Guard members have been called up in 29 states to deal with the violence. New York is not among them, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he does not want the Guard. On Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo called what happened in the city “a disgrace.”
“The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night,” Cuomo said at a briefing in Albany.
He said the mayor underestimated the problem, and the nation’s largest police force was not deployed in sufficient numbers, though the city had said it doubled the usual police presence.
Tuesday marked the eighth straight night of the protests, which began after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck while the handcuffed black man called out that he couldn’t breathe. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been fired and charged with murder.
The mother of George Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, said she wanted the world to know that her little girl lost a good father.
“I want everybody to know that this is what those officers took,” Roxie Washington said during a Minneapolis news conference with her young daughter at her side. “I want justice for him because he was good. No matter what anybody thinks, he was good.”
Some protesters framed the burgeoning movement as a necessity after a string of killings by police.
“It feels like it’s just been an endless cascade of hashtags of black people dying, and it feels like nothing’s really being done by our political leaders to actually enact real change,” said Christine Ohenzuwa, 19, who attended a peaceful protest at the Minnesota state Capitol in St. Paul. “There’s always going to be a breaking point. I think right now, we’re seeing the breaking point around the country.”
“I live in this state. It’s really painful to see what’s going on, but it’s also really important to understand that it’s connected to a system of racial violence,” she said.
Meanwhile, governors and mayors, Republicans and Democrats alike, rejected Trump’s threat to send in the military, with some saying troops would be unnecessary and others questioning whether the government has such authority and warning that such a step would be dangerous.
A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the president is not rushing to send in the military and that his goal was to pressure governors to deploy more National Guard members.
Such use of the military would mark a stunning federal intervention rarely seen in modern American history.
Amid the protests, nine states and the District of Columbia held presidential primaries that tested the nation’s ability to run elections while balancing a pandemic and sweeping social unrest. Joe Biden won hundreds more delegates and was on the cusp of formally securing the Democratic presidential nomination.
Also Tuesday, Minnesota opened an investigation into whether the Minneapolis Police Department has a pattern of discrimination against minorities.
___
Sullivan reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press journalists across the U.S. contributed to this report
Trump appears to back away from sending military to quell protests
Associated Press Published: June 3, 2020
Members of the DC National Guard block an intersection on 16th Street as demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, near the White House in Washington. ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after threatening states that he would dispatch the military to quell protests, President Donald Trump appeared to be privately backing off his threat to deploy troops, with White House officials saying this week’s response to demonstrations across the country indicated that local governments should be able to restore order themselves.
The shift came as protests in Washington and other cities over police brutality against minorities proceeded Tuesday with relative calm, a striking contrast to the harsh crackdowns outside the White House on Monday night. The president wanted to make the aggressive action in the nation’s capital an example for the rest of the country, a senior White House official said Tuesday.
The Defense Department has drafted contingency plans for how to deploy active-duty military if needed. Pentagon documents reviewed by The Associated Press showed plans for soldiers from an Army division to protect the White House and other federal buildings if the security situation in the nation’s capital were to deteriorate and the National Guard could not secure the facilities.
But interest in exerting that extraordinary federal authority appeared to be waning in the White House. Though the crackdown on the Washington demonstrations was praised by some Trump supporters Tuesday, a handful of Republicans expressed concern that law enforcement officers risked violating the protesters’ First Amendment rights. The defense secretary also distanced himself from Trump’s decision to walk across Lafayette Park for a photo opportunity at a church after the demonstrators had been cleared.
Pentagon Chief Mark Esper, who walked with Trump to St. John’s Church on Monday evening, insisted he did not know the president’s destination.
“I didn’t know where I was going,” Esper told NBC News. He said he had expected to view damage to a bathroom facility that had been vandalized in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, and talk with National Guard troops positioned there.
Read:Democrats fail in effort to get Senate to condemn Trump for church photo-op
The protests have sprung up across the country following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him down and pressed Floyd’s neck with his knee. Violent demonstrations have raged in scores of American cities, marking a level of unrest unseen for decades.
The situation in Washington escalated Monday, becoming a potent symbol of Trump’s policing tactics and a physical manifestation of the rhetorical culture war he has stoked since before he was elected. Nearly 30 minutes before a 7 p.m. curfew in Washington, U.S. Park Police repelled protesters with what they said were smoke canisters and pepper balls.
“D.C. had no problems last night. Many arrests. Great job done by all. Overwhelming force. Domination,” Trump tweeted Tuesday, after a night in which heavily armed military forces and federal officers swarmed the city. Trump added, “(thank you President Trump!).”
The clampdown on the protesters followed a weekend of demonstrations outside the White House. Trump had been furious about images juxtaposing fires set in the park outside the executive mansion with a darkened White House in the background, according to current and former campaign and administration officials. He was also angry about the news coverage revealing he had been rushed to the White House bunker during Friday’s protests.
He moved to respond aggressively Monday. In an evening address in the Rose Garden, he called on governors to ramp up the National Guard presence in their states to tamp down the protests. If they didn’t abide by those orders, Trump said, he would dispatch the military to their states — a step rarely taken in modern American history.
The federal government has provided all affected states with a list of National Guard resources available to them, the White House official said. The official added that Trump’s message to governors was that if they don’t use all the tools in their arsenal, they shouldn’t expect a sympathetic response to any request for federal dollars to help with cleanup and recovery down.
On Monday, 715 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in the capital area in case the situation in Washington escalated. They are now stationed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Two more 82nd Airborne battalions, totaling 1,300 soldiers, are on standby at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, according to the documents reviewed by the AP. The plan is named Operation Themis.
The soldiers on standby in the Washington area are armed and have riot gear and bayonets. After the AP first reported the issuing of bayonets Tuesday, orders came down that soldiers would not need the knife-like weapons that can be affixed to rifles, according to two soldiers from the 82nd who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear they would be punished for commenting publicly. The idea that bayonets could be used in confronting civilians provoked an outcry on social media and among some members of Congress.
Already administration officials were privately acknowledging that the Monday’s events didn’t serve the administration well. Some Republican lawmakers, who are typically in lockstep with the president or at least refrain from publicly criticizing him, said he had gone too far in appearing to use force to clear the way for his visit to the church.
“There is no right to riot, no right to destroy others’ property, and no right to throw rocks at police,” said Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse. “But there is a fundamental — a constitutional — right to protest, and I’m against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the Word of God as a political prop.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said of Trump posing for photos holding up a Bible, “I just wish he opened it once in a while.”
Trump’s Cabinet also played a role in what appeared to be an orchestrated event.
It was Attorney General William Barr who gave the order for law enforcement to clear out the protest before Trump’s walk to the church and ahead of Washington’s 7 p.m. curfew. A person familiar with the matter said the decision was made earlier Monday, but had not been executed by the time Barr arrived in Lafayette Park to survey the scene Monday evening. He verbally gave the order at that time.
After the demonstrators had been pushed out of the park, Trump emerged from the White House with several officials, including Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Senior defense officials told reporters Milley was also not aware that the Park Police and law enforcement had made a decision to clear the square or that Trump intended to visit the church. They had been in Washington to coordinate with federal law enforcement officials but were diverted to the White House to brief Trump on military preparations, the officials said.
The White House, Defense, campaign officials and others with knowledge of Monday’s events all insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Members of the DC National Guard block an intersection on 16th Street as demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, near the White House in Washington. ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after threatening states that he would dispatch the military to quell protests, President Donald Trump appeared to be privately backing off his threat to deploy troops, with White House officials saying this week’s response to demonstrations across the country indicated that local governments should be able to restore order themselves.
The shift came as protests in Washington and other cities over police brutality against minorities proceeded Tuesday with relative calm, a striking contrast to the harsh crackdowns outside the White House on Monday night. The president wanted to make the aggressive action in the nation’s capital an example for the rest of the country, a senior White House official said Tuesday.
The Defense Department has drafted contingency plans for how to deploy active-duty military if needed. Pentagon documents reviewed by The Associated Press showed plans for soldiers from an Army division to protect the White House and other federal buildings if the security situation in the nation’s capital were to deteriorate and the National Guard could not secure the facilities.
But interest in exerting that extraordinary federal authority appeared to be waning in the White House. Though the crackdown on the Washington demonstrations was praised by some Trump supporters Tuesday, a handful of Republicans expressed concern that law enforcement officers risked violating the protesters’ First Amendment rights. The defense secretary also distanced himself from Trump’s decision to walk across Lafayette Park for a photo opportunity at a church after the demonstrators had been cleared.
Pentagon Chief Mark Esper, who walked with Trump to St. John’s Church on Monday evening, insisted he did not know the president’s destination.
“I didn’t know where I was going,” Esper told NBC News. He said he had expected to view damage to a bathroom facility that had been vandalized in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, and talk with National Guard troops positioned there.
Read:Democrats fail in effort to get Senate to condemn Trump for church photo-op
The protests have sprung up across the country following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him down and pressed Floyd’s neck with his knee. Violent demonstrations have raged in scores of American cities, marking a level of unrest unseen for decades.
The situation in Washington escalated Monday, becoming a potent symbol of Trump’s policing tactics and a physical manifestation of the rhetorical culture war he has stoked since before he was elected. Nearly 30 minutes before a 7 p.m. curfew in Washington, U.S. Park Police repelled protesters with what they said were smoke canisters and pepper balls.
“D.C. had no problems last night. Many arrests. Great job done by all. Overwhelming force. Domination,” Trump tweeted Tuesday, after a night in which heavily armed military forces and federal officers swarmed the city. Trump added, “(thank you President Trump!).”
The clampdown on the protesters followed a weekend of demonstrations outside the White House. Trump had been furious about images juxtaposing fires set in the park outside the executive mansion with a darkened White House in the background, according to current and former campaign and administration officials. He was also angry about the news coverage revealing he had been rushed to the White House bunker during Friday’s protests.
He moved to respond aggressively Monday. In an evening address in the Rose Garden, he called on governors to ramp up the National Guard presence in their states to tamp down the protests. If they didn’t abide by those orders, Trump said, he would dispatch the military to their states — a step rarely taken in modern American history.
The federal government has provided all affected states with a list of National Guard resources available to them, the White House official said. The official added that Trump’s message to governors was that if they don’t use all the tools in their arsenal, they shouldn’t expect a sympathetic response to any request for federal dollars to help with cleanup and recovery down.
On Monday, 715 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in the capital area in case the situation in Washington escalated. They are now stationed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Two more 82nd Airborne battalions, totaling 1,300 soldiers, are on standby at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, according to the documents reviewed by the AP. The plan is named Operation Themis.
The soldiers on standby in the Washington area are armed and have riot gear and bayonets. After the AP first reported the issuing of bayonets Tuesday, orders came down that soldiers would not need the knife-like weapons that can be affixed to rifles, according to two soldiers from the 82nd who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear they would be punished for commenting publicly. The idea that bayonets could be used in confronting civilians provoked an outcry on social media and among some members of Congress.
Already administration officials were privately acknowledging that the Monday’s events didn’t serve the administration well. Some Republican lawmakers, who are typically in lockstep with the president or at least refrain from publicly criticizing him, said he had gone too far in appearing to use force to clear the way for his visit to the church.
“There is no right to riot, no right to destroy others’ property, and no right to throw rocks at police,” said Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse. “But there is a fundamental — a constitutional — right to protest, and I’m against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the Word of God as a political prop.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said of Trump posing for photos holding up a Bible, “I just wish he opened it once in a while.”
Trump’s Cabinet also played a role in what appeared to be an orchestrated event.
It was Attorney General William Barr who gave the order for law enforcement to clear out the protest before Trump’s walk to the church and ahead of Washington’s 7 p.m. curfew. A person familiar with the matter said the decision was made earlier Monday, but had not been executed by the time Barr arrived in Lafayette Park to survey the scene Monday evening. He verbally gave the order at that time.
After the demonstrators had been pushed out of the park, Trump emerged from the White House with several officials, including Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Senior defense officials told reporters Milley was also not aware that the Park Police and law enforcement had made a decision to clear the square or that Trump intended to visit the church. They had been in Washington to coordinate with federal law enforcement officials but were diverted to the White House to brief Trump on military preparations, the officials said.
The White House, Defense, campaign officials and others with knowledge of Monday’s events all insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Barr Promises to Sic Terror-Hunters on Protesters
ANTIFA HOOLIGAN
The nationwide network of Joint Terrorism Task Forces aren’t built to go after property crimes committed by protesters. But, veterans say, the rule of law isn’t the point here.
Jun. 01, 2020
Doug Mills-Pool/Getty
YOU KNOW WHO ALSO CALLED ANTI-FASCISTS HOOLIGANS?
Attorney General Bill Barr told state governors on Monday that the Department of Justice was prepared to use the FBI’s regional counterterrorism hubs to share information with local law enforcement about “extremists” and “agitators” in the protests sweeping the country.
Barr said the Justice Department would tap Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs)—regional groups that ordinarily unite area FBI agents with state, local and federal law enforcement to monitor and pursue suspected terrorists—to “identify people in the crowd, pull them out and prosecute them.”
It’s an early glimpse of how the Justice Department plans to make President Trump’s legally dubious threat to treat protesters as terrorists a reality. According to a JTTF veteran, it’s a flagrant misuse of the task forces. And it’s a sign that the ever-expanding war on terror is jumping yet another guardrail.
Hours later, Barr left the White House premises and walked on to the square of Lafayette Park just to the north. He stayed roughly one block away from the gathering crowd of protesters who were stationed behind a barricade of fences and layers of armed policemen. Barr, in a suit but no tie, stood among what appeared to be advisers. He seemed to be studying the crowd ahead of him, occasionally pointing at them while talking to those beside him. He never ventured too close. And soon thereafter the police began pushing the protesters far back from the fencing.
Then they began tear gassing the protesters. Then the horses came in.
Earlier in the day, Barr told the governors, “It seems that some of the common dimensions are … we have the normal protesters. You have opportunistic people like looters. But in many places … you have this ingredient of extremists, anarchists...agitators who are driving the violence,” adding that the JTTF construction was a “a tried and true system.”
“It worked for domestic homegrown terrorists,” he said. “It already integrates your state and local people. It’s intelligence driven. We want to lean forward and charge … anyone who violates a federal law in connection with this rioting.”
Gov. Janet Millis, a Democrat from Maine, pressed Barr on who exactly was inciting violence in the protests.
“I’d be very interested in knowing the intel so we can prepare in advance for any insurgents or any professional instigators,” she said. “I would love to get the intel that you appear to have access to in regard to who these individuals are.”
‘Unhinged’ Trump Demands Mass Arrests, Flag-Burning Laws
Barr said all of the relevant intelligence would be shared through the JTTF. Before the call moved on, President Trump stepped in and suggested that governors, too, share intelligence they have gathered on violent protestors with the Department of Justice.
For the second day in a row, the FBI declined to comment. Late on Monday, it announced it was creating a tip line for people to inform on “violent instigators who are exploiting legitimate, peaceful protests and engaging in violations of federal law.” It assured in a press release, “The FBI respects the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights.” It did not specify any federal laws citizens might notice protesters violating.
JTTFs targets are designated terrorist groups – typically foreign terrorist organizations, as certified by the State and Treasury departments. There is no domestic terrorism statute, but the JTTFs can also target violent domestic groups like white-supremacist militias, but those organizations typically have a record of extreme violence, to include murder.
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“There’s a criteria you have to fit. Breaking windows and burning cars doesn’t fit,” said Ali Soufan, a retired FBI counterterrorism agent and JTTF veteran. “This is a divisive political message in an election year, trying to create an enemy.”
Soufan said he did not know how the Justice Department would be able to reconcile the president’s tweeted desire to designate Antifa as a terrorist group with the missions of the JTTF.
John Cohen, a former senior Department of Homeland Security official, said this “interesting” use of the JTTFs “was OK as long as they are targeting actual domestic violent extremist from both the far right and far left engaged in violent activity and not simply those engaged in protected speech.”
But Soufan noted that Trump was not remotely interested in applying the JTTF’s focus equally.
“If there’s no murder, no threat to the national security of the U.S., no divisiveness in the way Atomwaffen or the Base is doing, how do you want to do this? You’re working a couple guys getting together on social media to do this? You’re having a violation for graffiti?” Soufan said. “What is [FBI Director] Christopher Wray going to do? Are there going to be structural changes in the FBI to do this kind of work?”
Antifa is not an organization, but instead an ethic of antifascist confrontation. That’s permitted right-wingers to define Antifa broadly as hated, violent political opponents – and, now, to open the aperture of permissible state violence against Americans. “Now that we clearly see Antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?” tweeted Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) “[L]et's see how tough these Antifa terrorists are when they're facing off with the 101st Airborne Division,” added Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), an Iraq war veteran.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to a question about how, for legal purposes, the department is defining Antifa.
Within that amorphousness is an authoritarian opportunity, according to Jason Stanley, a Yale philosophy professor and author of How Fascism Works.
“It’s an open-ended, undefined target, and we know from the war on terror that many people were caught up by being family members, by being connected” to terrorist targets by a spiraling web of association, Stanley said. “First they came for the Muslims and I said nothing because I was not Muslim – the Neimoller poem all over again. It never stops at just the hated minority group, it always goes to opponents. History tells you that. To use the apparatus already misused once, against domestic political opponents, it’s incredibly dangerous.”
“If there’s no murder, no threat to the national security of the U.S., how do you want to do this? You’re working a couple guys getting together on social media to do this? You’re having a violation for graffiti?”
— Ali Soufan
Stanley also noted that aiming the counterterrorism apparatus at people protesting police unites the cops with Trump. “He wants to get law enforcement responding [to the protests] in a militarized way,” Stanley said. “If you’re an authoritarian, you want law enforcement on your side.”
And not only them. On the call, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper encouraged governors to increase their use of the National Guard to “dominate the battlespace.” His casual reference to American cities with a term used to describe theaters for military operations shocked the former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, retired Gen. Tony Thomas. “Not what America needs to hear… ever, unless we are invaded by an adversary or experience a constitutional failure...ie a Civil War,” Thomas tweeted. Trump also told the governors that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley – who, by statute, is not in the chain of command – was “in charge” of the response to the protests. A spokesperson for Milley did not immediately return a call seeking clarification.
When asked about the president’s comments Monday evening, one senior Department of Defense official told The Daily Beast: “I have no idea what is going on.”
As DC police tear-gassed peaceful protesters outside the White House late Monday afternoon, the president promised to stop “acts of domestic terror.” It was unclear if Trump had invoked the 19th century Insurrection Act, which empowers the president, in cases of “unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States” to use the military “to suppress the rebellion.” But he said if the governors “refuse to take action” for that suppression “then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”
Trump introduced Barr on the call with governors Monday by saying he would “activate” his attorney general. “And we will activate him strongly,” he said. “We are strongly for arrests. We do have to get much tougher. You have to arrest people and you have to try people. And they need to go to jail for long periods of time.” Trump called individuals involved in the protests who were stealing goods from stores and lighting cars on fire as “terrorists”, adding that “they are Antifa and they are the radical left.”
Barr hinted at the beginning of the call that the Department of Justice would begin to move forward with working with states to arrest and prosecute individuals who were involved in spreading violence during the protests.
“Two of the most common are anyone who crosses state lines …. to incite, participate in or encourage riots or anyone who is using any interstate facilities including telecommunications or whatever…in connection with participating in or encouraging riots,” Barr said. “But there are many others … conspiracies or any other things like that."
Barr appears to be referencing Title 18, section 2101 of the U.S. Code, which references “riots.”
But there do appear to be exceptions, including “for the purpose of pursuing the legitimate objectives of organized labor, through orderly and lawful means,” the law notes.
It’s unclear how the Department of Justice or the JTTF would go about identifying individuals who crossed state lines and then proceeded to incite violence. It’s also unclear whether there are such individuals participating in the current unrest.
Regardless, Barr said, states need to do a better job at controlling the protestors if only so the police can arrest and prosecute.
Trump Fears the Minnesota Chaos Makes Him Look Weak
“We have to control the crowds. And that requires a strong presence. In many places … it will require the national guard. The key is you have to have adequate force… to be more dynamic and go after the agitators,” he said. “The police are pinned back ….they are just standing in line watching the events. And when they disperse the crowds people are running off in different directions.
The reason we have to control the streets is not just to bring peace to that town but it is to catch the bad actors.”
However much Barr seeks to turn the JTTFs against “Antifa,” Soufan considered it a cynical distraction from the nationwide discontent on display over the past week.
“We forget about this grassroots movement fed up with the injustice and the racism in this society,” he said.
But by Monday night, U.S. Attorneys were beginning to respond to Barr’s call to deploy the JTTFs. “The criminals who have caused havoc in neighborhoods across Southern California appear to be exploiting a situation in which other citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights to assemble and express their viewpoints,” Nicola Hanna, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement. “We are confronting this outlaw behavior by providing federal resources and working closely with local police to identify cases in which federal charges could be appropriately filed.”
Erin Banco
National Security Reporter
Barr said the Justice Department would tap Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs)—regional groups that ordinarily unite area FBI agents with state, local and federal law enforcement to monitor and pursue suspected terrorists—to “identify people in the crowd, pull them out and prosecute them.”
It’s an early glimpse of how the Justice Department plans to make President Trump’s legally dubious threat to treat protesters as terrorists a reality. According to a JTTF veteran, it’s a flagrant misuse of the task forces. And it’s a sign that the ever-expanding war on terror is jumping yet another guardrail.
Hours later, Barr left the White House premises and walked on to the square of Lafayette Park just to the north. He stayed roughly one block away from the gathering crowd of protesters who were stationed behind a barricade of fences and layers of armed policemen. Barr, in a suit but no tie, stood among what appeared to be advisers. He seemed to be studying the crowd ahead of him, occasionally pointing at them while talking to those beside him. He never ventured too close. And soon thereafter the police began pushing the protesters far back from the fencing.
Then they began tear gassing the protesters. Then the horses came in.
Earlier in the day, Barr told the governors, “It seems that some of the common dimensions are … we have the normal protesters. You have opportunistic people like looters. But in many places … you have this ingredient of extremists, anarchists...agitators who are driving the violence,” adding that the JTTF construction was a “a tried and true system.”
“It worked for domestic homegrown terrorists,” he said. “It already integrates your state and local people. It’s intelligence driven. We want to lean forward and charge … anyone who violates a federal law in connection with this rioting.”
Gov. Janet Millis, a Democrat from Maine, pressed Barr on who exactly was inciting violence in the protests.
“I’d be very interested in knowing the intel so we can prepare in advance for any insurgents or any professional instigators,” she said. “I would love to get the intel that you appear to have access to in regard to who these individuals are.”
‘Unhinged’ Trump Demands Mass Arrests, Flag-Burning Laws
Barr said all of the relevant intelligence would be shared through the JTTF. Before the call moved on, President Trump stepped in and suggested that governors, too, share intelligence they have gathered on violent protestors with the Department of Justice.
For the second day in a row, the FBI declined to comment. Late on Monday, it announced it was creating a tip line for people to inform on “violent instigators who are exploiting legitimate, peaceful protests and engaging in violations of federal law.” It assured in a press release, “The FBI respects the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights.” It did not specify any federal laws citizens might notice protesters violating.
JTTFs targets are designated terrorist groups – typically foreign terrorist organizations, as certified by the State and Treasury departments. There is no domestic terrorism statute, but the JTTFs can also target violent domestic groups like white-supremacist militias, but those organizations typically have a record of extreme violence, to include murder.
RELATED IN POLITICS
Trump’s America Could Be on His List of Human Rights Abusers
O’Brien: Trump Shooting Tweet Was to ‘De-Escalate Violence’
“There’s a criteria you have to fit. Breaking windows and burning cars doesn’t fit,” said Ali Soufan, a retired FBI counterterrorism agent and JTTF veteran. “This is a divisive political message in an election year, trying to create an enemy.”
Soufan said he did not know how the Justice Department would be able to reconcile the president’s tweeted desire to designate Antifa as a terrorist group with the missions of the JTTF.
John Cohen, a former senior Department of Homeland Security official, said this “interesting” use of the JTTFs “was OK as long as they are targeting actual domestic violent extremist from both the far right and far left engaged in violent activity and not simply those engaged in protected speech.”
But Soufan noted that Trump was not remotely interested in applying the JTTF’s focus equally.
“If there’s no murder, no threat to the national security of the U.S., no divisiveness in the way Atomwaffen or the Base is doing, how do you want to do this? You’re working a couple guys getting together on social media to do this? You’re having a violation for graffiti?” Soufan said. “What is [FBI Director] Christopher Wray going to do? Are there going to be structural changes in the FBI to do this kind of work?”
Antifa is not an organization, but instead an ethic of antifascist confrontation. That’s permitted right-wingers to define Antifa broadly as hated, violent political opponents – and, now, to open the aperture of permissible state violence against Americans. “Now that we clearly see Antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?” tweeted Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) “[L]et's see how tough these Antifa terrorists are when they're facing off with the 101st Airborne Division,” added Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), an Iraq war veteran.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to a question about how, for legal purposes, the department is defining Antifa.
Within that amorphousness is an authoritarian opportunity, according to Jason Stanley, a Yale philosophy professor and author of How Fascism Works.
“It’s an open-ended, undefined target, and we know from the war on terror that many people were caught up by being family members, by being connected” to terrorist targets by a spiraling web of association, Stanley said. “First they came for the Muslims and I said nothing because I was not Muslim – the Neimoller poem all over again. It never stops at just the hated minority group, it always goes to opponents. History tells you that. To use the apparatus already misused once, against domestic political opponents, it’s incredibly dangerous.”
“If there’s no murder, no threat to the national security of the U.S., how do you want to do this? You’re working a couple guys getting together on social media to do this? You’re having a violation for graffiti?”
— Ali Soufan
Stanley also noted that aiming the counterterrorism apparatus at people protesting police unites the cops with Trump. “He wants to get law enforcement responding [to the protests] in a militarized way,” Stanley said. “If you’re an authoritarian, you want law enforcement on your side.”
And not only them. On the call, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper encouraged governors to increase their use of the National Guard to “dominate the battlespace.” His casual reference to American cities with a term used to describe theaters for military operations shocked the former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, retired Gen. Tony Thomas. “Not what America needs to hear… ever, unless we are invaded by an adversary or experience a constitutional failure...ie a Civil War,” Thomas tweeted. Trump also told the governors that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley – who, by statute, is not in the chain of command – was “in charge” of the response to the protests. A spokesperson for Milley did not immediately return a call seeking clarification.
When asked about the president’s comments Monday evening, one senior Department of Defense official told The Daily Beast: “I have no idea what is going on.”
As DC police tear-gassed peaceful protesters outside the White House late Monday afternoon, the president promised to stop “acts of domestic terror.” It was unclear if Trump had invoked the 19th century Insurrection Act, which empowers the president, in cases of “unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States” to use the military “to suppress the rebellion.” But he said if the governors “refuse to take action” for that suppression “then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”
Trump introduced Barr on the call with governors Monday by saying he would “activate” his attorney general. “And we will activate him strongly,” he said. “We are strongly for arrests. We do have to get much tougher. You have to arrest people and you have to try people. And they need to go to jail for long periods of time.” Trump called individuals involved in the protests who were stealing goods from stores and lighting cars on fire as “terrorists”, adding that “they are Antifa and they are the radical left.”
Barr hinted at the beginning of the call that the Department of Justice would begin to move forward with working with states to arrest and prosecute individuals who were involved in spreading violence during the protests.
“Two of the most common are anyone who crosses state lines …. to incite, participate in or encourage riots or anyone who is using any interstate facilities including telecommunications or whatever…in connection with participating in or encouraging riots,” Barr said. “But there are many others … conspiracies or any other things like that."
Barr appears to be referencing Title 18, section 2101 of the U.S. Code, which references “riots.”
But there do appear to be exceptions, including “for the purpose of pursuing the legitimate objectives of organized labor, through orderly and lawful means,” the law notes.
It’s unclear how the Department of Justice or the JTTF would go about identifying individuals who crossed state lines and then proceeded to incite violence. It’s also unclear whether there are such individuals participating in the current unrest.
Regardless, Barr said, states need to do a better job at controlling the protestors if only so the police can arrest and prosecute.
Trump Fears the Minnesota Chaos Makes Him Look Weak
“We have to control the crowds. And that requires a strong presence. In many places … it will require the national guard. The key is you have to have adequate force… to be more dynamic and go after the agitators,” he said. “The police are pinned back ….they are just standing in line watching the events. And when they disperse the crowds people are running off in different directions.
The reason we have to control the streets is not just to bring peace to that town but it is to catch the bad actors.”
However much Barr seeks to turn the JTTFs against “Antifa,” Soufan considered it a cynical distraction from the nationwide discontent on display over the past week.
“We forget about this grassroots movement fed up with the injustice and the racism in this society,” he said.
But by Monday night, U.S. Attorneys were beginning to respond to Barr’s call to deploy the JTTFs. “The criminals who have caused havoc in neighborhoods across Southern California appear to be exploiting a situation in which other citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights to assemble and express their viewpoints,” Nicola Hanna, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement. “We are confronting this outlaw behavior by providing federal resources and working closely with local police to identify cases in which federal charges could be appropriately filed.”
Erin Banco
National Security Reporter
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