A Wednesday report from the inspector general of the U.S. Department of the Interior that exonerated former President Trump of the false accusations that he used tear gas to clear “peaceful protesters” from Lafayette Square for a “photo op,” is thrusting then-candidate Joe Biden’s false assertions into the spotlight, as he initially accused Trump of using the U.S. military “against the American people.”
Last June, former President Trump denounced the violent riots permeating the country and walked through Lafayette Square to St. John’s Episcopal Church, holding up a Bible upon his arrival. The night prior, rioters set the historic church partially ablaze.
The left wasted no time accusing Trump of using tear gas to clear “peaceful” protesters from the park for nothing more than a “photo op.” Biden was one of those individuals.
“He’s using the American military against the American people. He tear-gassed peaceful protesters and fired rubber bullets. For a photo,” Biden asserted, advancing the establishment media’s unchecked narrative:
He's using the American military against the American people.
He tear-gassed peaceful protesters and fired rubber bullets.
For a photo.
For our children, for the very soul of our country, we must defeat him. But I mean it when I say this: we can only do it together. https://t.co/G1yE67q9Nz
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 2, 2020
The report, however, ultimately concluded that it found no evidence to suggest that the USPP cleared Lafayette Park “so the President could visit St. John’s Church”:
Instead, we found that by approximately 10 a.m. on June 1, the USPP had already begun developing a plan to clear protesters from the area to enable the contractor to safely install the antiscale fence. … We found no evidence establishing that the USPP knew of any potential movement by the President through Lafayette Park until hours later.
As Breitbart News added, “Their report notes that there was tear gas used nearby — by Washington, D.C., police, operating under Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), who denounced Trump at the time but whose administration is now defending the use of tear gas in court.”
The findings prompted a question from former White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, who asked:
Now that the IG report has thoroughly debunked the Lafayette Lie, one must ask: how many riots subsequently spiraled out of control elsewhere because local authorities embraced the Left’s Lafayette narrative—and did not deploy the rapid initial force necessary to assert control?:
Now that the IG report has thoroughly debunked the Lafayette Lie, one must ask: how many riots subsequently spiraled out of control elsewhere because local authorities embraced the Left’s Lafayette narrative—and did not deploy the rapid initial force necessary to assert control? https://t.co/9hPIPAV5KA
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) June 9, 2021
The answer to that question remains seen, as the false narrative dominated the establishment media’s pages and airwaves for weeks on end.
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