National Guard commander to condemn use of force on D.C. protests
National Guard commander Adam DeMarco will testify before a House committee Tuesday that "excessive use of force" was used against protesters in Lafayette Square on June 1, refuting the attorney general's earlier assertions that force was justified.
DeMarco, an Iraq veteran who now serves as a major in the D.C. National Guard, will be testifying Tuesday before the House Committee for Natural Resources, which is investigating the use of force on the protesters. According to a publicly released opening statement, DeMarco will say that what he witnessed was "deeply disturbing."
"Having served in a combat zone, and understanding how to assess threat environments, at no time did I feel threatened by the protesters or assess them to be violent," DeMarco will say.
On June 1, federal law enforcement officers and Park Police dispersed protesters from the park with pepper spray and smoke bombs just before President Trump walked to nearby St. John's Church. Attorney General Bill Barr, who accompanied Mr. Trump to the church, has defended the forcible removal of protesters, asserting that they had grown "increasingly unruly" and did not move back when asked. He said the move to expand the perimeter around the White House was planned well before the president's walk.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/national-guard-commander-to-condemn-use-of-force-on-dc-protests/ar-BB17fPI7?li=BBnb7Kz
