Park Police head defends response to 'violent' June 1 protest
Acting Chief of the U.S. Park Police, Gregory Monahan, on Tuesday (July 28) told the House Natural Resources Committee, "based on the level of violence and sustained violence that we saw beginning on May 29 through June 1, this was one of the most violent protests that I've been a part of in my 23 years with the U.S. Park Police."
The hearing addresses a June incident when federal agents on horseback used tear gas to clear a square near the White House to allow President Donald Trump to pose for a photo holding up a Bible near historic St. John's Episcopal Church.
During Tuesday's hearing, Democratic Congressman Jared Huffman said protesters were "clearly confused" with the order to clear the square was given. He said, "it sure appears as if the park police ignored their own legal requirements in the settlement to follow these proceedures - almost as if they wanted the crowd to be confused so they could go in with maximum force and perhaps appease a president who just hours earlier had urged police to act that way."
