Democrats call for special prosecutor to investigate clearing of protesters outside White House
By Tal Axelrod - 06/04/20 05:22 PM EDT
Over 80 House Democrats on Thursday called for the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate an incident in which law enforcement broke up a peaceful protest outside the White House.
In a letter to Attorney General William Barr led by Rep. David Cicilline (R.I.), the lawmakers expressed alarm over the use of smoke grenades, pepper balls and other devices to disperse the crowd in Lafayette Square. The suppression of the protest, which was reportedly directed by Barr himself, was followed by a photo opportunity at a nearby church for President Trump and other administration officials.
“We could not understand why such aggressive tactics were used…until we saw the President, yourself, and several senior White House officials walk through the site of the protest to film a cynical, political propaganda video that the White House later released through social media,†Cicilline wrote.
“Given the issues at stake, and your evident role in suppressing the right of the American people to redress their grievances, it is clear that a special prosecutor must be appointed to investigate your actions and the actions of all executive branch officials involved in this action," he added.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/501230-democrats-call-for-special-prosecutor-to-investigate-clearing-of-protesters