Last week, President Trump strolled through Lafayette Park to St. Johns Church, a move that outraged House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA).
Headlines erupted from many outlets claiming that law enforcement had used tear gas to clear away peaceful protesters so Trump could have a photo op, but we now know they were all wrong.
Trump Gets Blasted
Even as the video was rolling live, comments were flying in on social media attacking Trump.
After the event took place, Pelosi was chomping at the bit to take a shot at Trump.
Pelosi ripped Trump for using tear gas to clear his way, but she was not alone in her attacks (comments she was later forced to walk back).
The New York Times immediately posted an article with the headline, “Protesters Dispersed with Tear Gas So Trump Could Pose at Church.”
As of this writing, that headline has not been updated to reflect what really happened.
In addition to Katie Rogers penning the article, Maggie Haberman, a known anti-Trumper at the Times, contributed to it.
Trump was also ripped by local church leaders, with D.C. Episcopal Bishop Marianne Budde stating, “Tonight President just used a Bible and a church of my diocese as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our church stands for.
“To do so, he sanctioned the use of tear gas by police officers in riot gear to clear the church yard.”
The Truth Comes Out
After several days of hearing Trump getting blasted by politicians and liberals, the United States Park Police (USPP) has now come forward to set the record straight.
Fox News has reported that not only was tear gas not used, but those peaceful protesters were not exactly peaceful.
The USPP stated, “At approximately 6:33 pm, violent protestors on H Street NW began throwing projectiles including bricks, frozen water bottles and caustic liquids.
“The protestors also climbed onto a historic building at the north end of Lafayette Park that was destroyed by arson days prior.
“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.”
The statement continued, “As many of the protestors became more combative, continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers’ weapons, officers then employed the use of smoke canisters and pepper balls when protestors did scatter from the area.”
President Trump’s campaign responded to the USPP report, with Tim Murtaugh, the Trump 2020 Communication’s Director stating, “It’s said that a lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can get its pants on.
“This tear gas lie is proof of that. For nearly an entire day, the whole of the press corps frantically reported the ‘news’ of a tear gas attack on ‘peaceful’ protestors in Lafayette Park, with no evidence to support such claims.
“We now know through the U.S. Park Police that neither they, nor any of their law enforcement partners, used tear gas to quell rising violence.”
He added, “We also know that police discovered stashes of weapons like glass bottles, baseball bats, and metal poles hidden nearby, which are indeed strange items to have on hand for a ‘peaceful’ protest.”
Don’t expect an apology anytime soon for the misinformation spread by the media or Democrats, though.
In fact, you can probably expect the opposite because even after the USPP report had been released, the narrative that Trump had used tear gas was still be spread.
Not only that, but fact check organizations are already posting articles saying that it is mere semantics to try to differentiate pepper spray from tear gas.
Source: Breitbart, Fox News, Vox, The Hill, New York Times, SF Chronicle, & FactCheck.org
We depend on our readers to help us get the word out. So, if you agree with this article, please like and share the article on your favorite social media outlet. You are also encouraged to sign up for our newsletter to ensure you can stay informed. To sign up for our newsletter, click here.