More than a thousand Department of Justice (DOJ) alumni called on the department’s internal watchdog to investigate Attorney General William Barr
Bill BarrRepublicans walk tightrope on police reform Barr contradicts Trump, says Secret Service called for him to be moved to bunker White House: 'No regrets' about handling of protesters in Lafayette Square MORE’s role in the aggressive dispersal last week of protesters gathered near the White House.
Some 1,260 former federal prosecutors, judges and department officials penned a letter Wednesday asking DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz to investigate after law enforcement used chemical agents and rubber bullets to scatter the peaceful crowd.
“If the Attorney General or any other DOJ employee has directly participated in actions that have deprived Americans of their constitutional rights or that physically injured Americans lawfully exercising their rights, that would be misconduct of the utmost seriousness, the details of which must be shared with the American people,” the former officials wrote on Medium.
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The letter comes after the Washington, D.C., chapter of Black Lives Matter, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups backed a lawsuit brought by several protesters against President Trump
Donald John TrumpMcBath, Handel to face off in Georgia House rematch Trump thanks George P. Bush for his support: 'Great honor' Trump Jr.'s Mongolia hunting trip cost K in Secret Service protection MORE and members of his administration, including Barr, as well as security personnel.
The administration sparked a bipartisan backlash last week when law enforcement used aggressive measures, including tear gas, flash-bangs and rubber bullets, to disrupt a largely peaceful protest in Lafayette Square against racial inequality and police violence.
Moments later, Trump walked across the vacated street flanked by Cabinet members, a heavy security detail and senior staff to stand in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he hoisted a Bible and posed for photographs, in what critics viewed as a surreal political stunt.
Barr confirmed last week that it was his decision to “move the perimeter northward by a block” and that he did so to ensure the safety of federal facilities and personnel as the crowd was becoming “more unruly,” using projectiles and threatening federal officers.
Barr also said the protesters were asked multiple times to move and that federal agents took action only after the crowds refused to leave. But plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against the administration say they heard no prior warnings, and journalists at the scene reported the crowd had been peaceful.
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The letter from the former DOJ officials asks the department watchdog to examine the “full scope” of Barr’s involvement in clearing the crowd, which the officials say amounted to violations of constitutional protections.
“Based on what we now know, these actions violated both the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects freedom of speech and the press, and the right to assemble; and the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable seizures, to include objectively unreasonable uses of force by law enforcement officers,” the DOJ alumni wrote.
“None of us would ever have considered directing or engaging in such actions to be consistent with our oaths to support and defend the Constitution,” they added.
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