President Donald Trump met privately with a group of families of Americans killed by law enforcement on Tuesday, which was described afterward as an emotional event.
“It was a very important meeting, a very emotional meeting,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters afterward.
The meeting included family members of Jemel Roberson, Botham Jean, Ahmaud Arbery, Darius Tarver, Michael Dean, Cameron Lamb, and Everett Palmer.
McEnany said that the families shared their personal stories of loss with President Trump during the meeting.
“There were a lot of tears, there was a lot of emotion and the president was devastated,” she said.
McEnany said that Trump personally spoke to her after the meeting, describing the stories as “devastating.”
“He took it deeply personally,” she said. “It was a very productive meeting and a solutions-oriented meeting.”
The families did not attend the president’s signing ceremony of an executive order to address ways to reform the use of force employed by police officers.
Deputy Director of the Office of American Innovation Ja’Ron Smith described it as a “mutual decision.”
“It really wasn’t about doing a photo opportunity,” he told reporters. “We wanted the opportunity to really hear from the families and protect them.”
Smith said he was disappointed that civil rights groups attacked the families for meeting with the president.
“I think it’s really unfortunate that some civil rights groups have even attacked them for coming or are putting out false statements about the interaction there,” Smith said.
Activist Sean King, who was not at the meeting, said on Twitter that the meeting was “contentious,” which a White House official told Breitbart News was false.
Attorney S. Lee Merritt, who attended the meeting, said that complaints of a photo-op with the president were false.
“Reports of a photo op with the president or standing with the White House during the EO signing are false,” Merritt wrote on Twitter. “Show me the civil rights leaders who are upset about families making a direct appeal for federal intervention after the murder of their loved one and I’ll show you a clown.”
Reports of a photo op with the president or standing with the White House during the EO signing are false.
Show me the civil rights leaders who are upset about families making a direct appeal for federal intervention after the murder of their loved one & I’ll show you a clown. pic.twitter.com/GXR5arB8Mz
— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@MeritLaw) June 16, 2020
Merritt also said that the group “secured a commitment to independent federal investigations of each of the families that accompanied me to the White House.”
We secured a commitment to independent federal investigations of each of the families that accompanied me to the White House.
This commitment is not currency. This commitment does not help save lives in the future but potentially will help these families get justice.
— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@MeritLaw) June 16, 2020
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