Trump made a surprise visit to the historical St. John's Episcopal Church last night, just moments after police cleared away peaceful protestors with tear gas and rubber bullets.
A senior Defense official said Tuesday that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and the nation's highest-ranking military officer did not intend to participate in President Donald Trump's photo-op in front of St. John's Church, which had been set on fire by protesters the night before.
President Donald Trump walks with US Attorney General William Barr , US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark A. Milley , and others from the White House to visit St. John's Church after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC.
"They were not aware that the Park Police and law enforcement had made a decision to clear the square. And once they began that walk off the White House grounds with the president, their understanding was that they were going out of the White House to go into a Lafayette Park to review the efforts to do address the protests," the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity added.
if states failed to quell demonstrations, riot police forcibly cleared protesters out of Lafayette Square, a public park in front of the president's residence.
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Episcopal bishop 'deeply offended' by Trump using Bible, church as a 'prop'Bishop Budde comments on President Trump's visit: 'He was proceeded by a violent clearing of non-violent protesters to make his way and he was using our church as a backdrop and the bible as a prop in ways that I found to be deeply offensive.'
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