The Interior Department inspector general concluded Trump was not the reason protesters were removed from Lafayette Square last year.
Law enforcement cleared protesters outside of Lafayette Square last year so contractors could install new anti-riot fencing, not to make way for former President Donald Trump’s controversial photo-op outside a D.C. church, a new federal government probe report released Wednesday found. According to the report, the operation to install the fence—and clear the protesters—began at 6:23 p.m. local time, about half an hour before Trump began his walk from the White House at 7:01 p.m. Law enforcement used pepper bullets to push back the protesters— a tactic met with widespread criticism by protesters and observers at the time.
