Episcopal bishop of DC 'outraged' after Trump hosted a photo-op outside of one of her churches holding a Bible

The tear gas thing is a straw-man.

Reporting shows I am correct.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/us/politics/trump-walk-lafayette-square.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/02/trump-washington-walk-to-the-church-photo-op

Reality exists. This happened.

@zaryia: C'mon man lets focus on what really matters. It wasn't tear gas, it was pepper balls ("the pepper-spray ball will break upon contact with any surface and begin to spread chemicals that can cause severe irritation to the eyes and the nose"). That's completely different. I bet you feel really silly now.

@zaryia: Sorry, officials say otherwise and police already said they didnt know he was coming out.

Reality is they were given warnings but didnt listen. That's reality

And no tear gas was used. Thanks

You kid, but as long as they did it only because the protesters were declining orders and becoming violent, then I'm glad they did it.

How does that boot taste?

Video shows otherwise, plus much more. Sorry the truth hurts.

@Chutebox:

Video shows jack. If it does please share. I'll gladly admit if it shows they were all peaceful and not declining orders.

It was peaceful until the police escalated it with violence.

So again, how does the boot taste?

So you got nothing? I don't know, how does that boot taste?

@phbz said:

@Chutebox:

Go waste time elsewhere?

@Chutebox said:

@phbz said:

@Chutebox:

Go waste time elsewhere?

Feelings hurt? Imagine if it were pepper balls. :D

@phbz said:

@Chutebox said:

@phbz said:

@Chutebox:

Go waste time elsewhere?

Feelings hurt? Imagine if it were pepper balls. :D

Why would my feelings be hurt? This is a cereal place.

It's been reported on the news. Why post something that's readily available? Do you live under the boot?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/after-night-significant-damage-d-c-mayor-bowser-imposes-earlier-n1221126

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/religious-leaders-lawmakers-outraged-over-trump-church-visit-n1221876

That's just two links. Look it up yourself. So again, how does that boot taste, comrade?

@drunk_pi: I did, I also looked up the official statement saying WHY it happened. I don't get why you guys don't understand this. Someone is lying. We don't know who. (I know who you'll side with).

The photo op was lame no matter what. But if they did it just for that, then that's terrible.

Edit: Those links still incorrectly state tear gas was used.

I don't get why people lick boots but here we are.

What happened, happened. Police violently broke up a peaceful protest, tear gas (or whatever gas) was used, just so Trump could get a photo op. I'd rather take the word of protesters and the media at this point rather than Trump, his cronies, and even the police.

Why?

How good is a police officer's word nowadays? When you have proof of police planting evidence to frame individuals, saying one thing but video proving the other, what good is an officer's word nowadays? Had that video that existed of that officer kneeling on Floyd, I bet you'd be singing a whole different tune.

You can't have "law and order" without accountability and trust. Without those two, "law and order" degenerates into what we're seeing right now.

I don't either, share your experience.

The rest is he said he said. It's the protesters word against the official word. Believe whoever you want.

Don't lick boots. I actually like civil rights and freedom unlike some people on this forum. ;)

It's numerous eyewitness accounts, including the press, protesters, and church officials. Who is the official making the statement? A trumpette?

I don't know, your speech is starting to slur from all that boot licking.

You don't even know? Lord...

The officials who were pepper spraying and shooting reports even after they complied and showed press badges? Lets face it, when the highschool bully loser becomes a cop, bad shit happens.

Mkay.

I'll believe video evidence and multiple news reports from reputable sources.

Why should I? Seems like you're making things up now to fit the narrative.

So... who's the official?

Multiple news from reputable sources...who falsely claim what was used against them?

Again, maybe a large portion of the protest was peaceful, but the few ruin it for the many. Always. BUT it's highly possible that those who claim it was peaceful weren't near the people who were causing issues. That is what I believe. IF this was all done just for a freaking weird ass photo op, then I'm with you guys.

Edit: Also I believe it was near curfew time, but I don't remember.

Oh my haha. You're arguing when you haven't even looked thoroughly through the information.

I'm arguing with someone who likes to play in circles instead of answering the question. Must be hard.

Who's the official?

“As many of the protesters became more combative, continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers’ weapons, officers then employed the use of smoke canisters and pepper balls,” U.S. Park Police Acting Chief Gregory Monahan said in a statement (read it in full below). “No tear gas was used by USPP officers or other assisting law enforcement partners to close the area at Lafayette Park. Subsequently, the fence was installed.”

He added: “Intelligence had revealed calls for violence against the police, and officers found caches of glass bottles, baseball bats and metal poles hidden along the street.”

Should I just argue with myself too since you're too lazy and don't care enough to look up information?

Gee, when the police violently disrupt a peaceful protest and use violent tactics against individuals, what tends to happen next? Maybe the police shouldn't violently beat up peaceful protesters. Hard concept to swallow, I know but when you get that boot out of your mouth, it makes sense. ;)

Also, intel reports are suggesting that anti-fa... aren't really the culprits behind some of the violent but rather far-right actors who wish to escalate the violence. link

So you're telling me, that numerous eyewitness accounts are easily dismissed by an officer who has a vested interest to lie to protect his ass, just like the numerous other officers who have lied to protect themselves when committing criminal acts?

@drunk_pi said:@Chutebox said: “As many of the protesters became more combative, continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers’ weapons, officers then employed the use of smoke canisters and pepper balls,” U.S. Park Police Acting Chief Gregory Monahan said in a statement (read it in full below). “No tear gas was used by USPP officers or other assisting law enforcement partners to close the area at Lafayette Park. Subsequently, the fence was installed.”

He added: “Intelligence had revealed calls for violence against the police, and officers found caches of glass bottles, baseball bats and metal poles hidden along the street.”

Should I just argue with myself too since you're too lazy and don't care enough to look up information?

Gee, when the police violently disrupt a peaceful protest and use violent tactics against individuals, what tends to happen next? Maybe the police shouldn't violently beat up peaceful protesters. Hard concept to swallow, I know but when you get that boot out of your mouth, it makes sense. ;)

Also, intel reports are suggesting that anti-fa... aren't really the culprits behind some of the violent but rather far-right actors who wish to escalate the violence. link

So you're telling me, that numerous eyewitness accounts are easily dismissed by an officer who has a vested interest to lie to protect his ass, just like the numerous other officers who have lied to protect themselves when committing criminal acts?

What does who is causing it have to do with anything? STay on topic.

Bud, lets be honest. I could say Obama was the one who said that because he was bored at home and wanted to help and you'd reply the same.

I'll say it for the umpteenth time, just because people say it was peaceful doesn't mean it was peaceful everywhere or they saw it all.

Believe who you want, just get that boot out of your mouth. Not healthy.

"A Department of Defense adviser has resigned, effective immediately, from the military's science board, citing what he believed to be a violation of conduct from Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

In his resignation letter to Esper, which was obtained by The Washington Post, James Miller Jr., who served as the US undersecretary of defense for policy from 2012 to 2014, recalled that he swore an oath of office to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States" and "to bear true faith and allegiance to the same," similar to what the defense secretary had done before he took office.

"On Monday, June 1, 2020, I believe that you violated that oath," Miller wrote to Esper.

Miller's reasoning centered on President Donald Trump's visit Monday to St. John's Church in Washington, DC, where police cleared peaceful protesters with tear gas so that he could pose with a Bible for photographs.

Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop, described the scene to CNN and The Washington Post as an "abuse of sacred symbols" amid "a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our churches stand for."

Budde told The Post that she "was not given even a courtesy call" that authorities would be clearing the area "with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop."

Esper, along with US Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also present during the visit.

"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," Miller wrote. "You then accompanied President Trump in walking from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church for that photo."

"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," Miller added. "Instead, you visibly supported it."

In his letter, Miller also queried Esper on where he believed the Constitution's limits were in relation to his duties.

"You must have thought long and hard about where that line should be drawn," Miller wrote. "I must now ask: If last night's blatant violations do not cross the line for you, what will?"

"Unfortunately, it appears there may be few if any lines that President Trump is not willing to cross, so you will probably be faced with this terrible question again in the coming days," he added. "You may be asked to take, or to direct the men and women serving in the US military to take, actions that further undermine the Constitution and harm Americans."

Esper has said he was unaware of where he was going with the entourage on Monday.

"I thought I was going to do two things: to see some damage and to talk to the troops," he said in an NBC News interview.

"I didn't know where I was going," he added. "I wanted to see how much damage actually happened."

Miller served on the military's Defense Science Board, which describes itself on its website as a group of retired senior officials who are "best equipped to tackle the Department's challenges in acquisition, cyber, communication technology, and weapons of mass destruction."

He was awarded the Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Defense Department's highest honorary award for civilians, four times in his career, according to his biography from the Center for a New American Security think tank.

"I wish you the best, in very difficult times," Miller said at the end of his letter. "The sanctity of the US Constitution, and the lives of Americans, may depend on your choices.""

@phbz: Ya, I read that too

Australian journalists 'brutally attacked' by U.S. Park Police while covering DC protest

https://wjla.com/news/local/australian-journalists-brutally-attacked-while-covering-dc-protest

Holy shit. Straight up thugs.

@zaryia: Dont think he was throwing a punch, but trying to get the camera down judging by how his arm came back.

But swinging a boton at a woman running away...stupid.

Nah he went hogwild on him. The whole situation was fucked up btw.

A true patriot. Unfortunately leaving does no good as the country is now down a good man, while the rot remains.

I can sympathize, though; it would be hard to stand by and watch this occur without taking some sort of action.

No excuse for this.

It always seems like the park and transit police get the worst of the worst, too. BART police in my area are notorious for abuses.

@mrbojangles25: BART is nasty in general lol.

What, you don't like seeing people shit in the corner of the car? lol

Or is it the people playing their boomboxes (yes, those are still a thing) at max volume while taking a nap?

Used to take it to Raider games way back when. Good Lord man!

Hahaha same. Those were actually kind of fun. I'd start in the east bay and the car would just get fuller and fuller with every stop until finally it was shoulder to shoulder black and silver.

On the rare occasion they won, it was a fun ride back haha

That's assault. I'm sure he's just a bad apple though. One of which will remain in the bunch.

Ya, it was a blast. I came from the valley, but like you said fuller and fuller. Either way I thought it was fun on the way back because they'd all be ragging on the team.

Still believing in the official lies I see. Sad. But hey we found one of the people that would still vote for trump if he shot someone on 5th Ave.

@LJS9502_basic: Hey man, you believe what you believe. I'll believe what two officials have now said.

Keep fighting the man!

James Mattis:
LINK

"I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.

When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.

We must reject any thinking of our cities as a “battlespace” that our uniformed military is called upon to “dominate.” At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them.

James Madison wrote in Federalist 14 that “America united with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat.” We do not need to militarize our response to protests. We need to unite around a common purpose. And it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law.

Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that “The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.’” We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.

Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.

We can come through this trying time stronger, and with a renewed sense of purpose and respect for one another. The pandemic has shown us that it is not only our troops who are willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the community. Americans in hospitals, grocery stores, post offices, and elsewhere have put their lives on the line in order to serve their fellow citizens and their country. We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite.

holy crap......

Trump supporters are on the wrong side of history on this one.

@drunk_pi: About time and he's right. There are some rumors he's told friends it's worse than we know. VOTE TRUMP OUT!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully it won't be too late.

Trump really fucked this one up. At least this screw up didn't cost 100k lives tho.

lol wtf

Trump says removal of protesters 'handled very well'

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/501047-trump-says-removal-of-protesters-handled-very-well

It's a bible. Lol, holy cap this dude is such a joke.

@Chutebox:

"US Park Police say it was a mistake to say no tear gas was used in Lafayette Square"

The U.S. Park Police on Friday hedged its earlier claims it did not use tear gas to clear crowds near the White House Monday, telling Vox earlier statements were a "mistake" given that the chemical agents they used cause similar eye and lung irritation.

A Tuesday statement from Park Police said it used "smoke canisters and pepper balls" to clear "violent" protests in the area, counter to multiple reports that peaceful demonstrators were met with tear gas.

"I'm not going to say that pepper balls don't irritate you," Park Police spokesman Sgt. Eduardo Delgado told Vox, noting they contain an irritant derived from pepper plants. "I'm not saying it's not a tear gas, but I'm just saying we use a pepper ball that shoots a powder."

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/501372-us-park-police-say-it-was-a-mistake-to-say-no-tear-gas-was-used-in

@mattbbpl: They really just dont want to give a straight answer do they?

More fallout from this disaster,

Top US military general Mark Milley apologizes for Trump church photo-op

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/11/top-us-military-general-mark-milley-issues-public-apology-trump-church-photo-op

Can't believe people here actually defended this.

You know when the military leadership starts apologizing things are bad.

Apparently they did not tell this guy the reason Trump wanted to go, he was either told or misled into thinking it was to go inspect troops or something like that, only to find out this was not true.

This is a god damn shame it is.

Good gravy, where do you find these people?

"I'm not saying it's teargas. But I'm also not not saying it's teargas. You dig?"

Just wow.

You speak more truth than you know.

If the president sends in the army as he sees fit, it's essentially a violation of a state's sovereignty.

Trump is acting like a king, and we all know what happened the last time a king threw his weight around in this country.

Like you said....wrong side of history.