The Trump administration tear-gassed peaceful protestors for a photo-op and lied about it
By 
What we’ve always known has been confirmed:
An attorney for DC Police said in court, for the first time, that the department did indeed use tear gas on protesters around Lafayette Square Park last June. Protesters and the ACLU are suing federal police, and MPD, over their use of tear gas.
MPD has consistently said that it was “not involved” in what happened at Lafayette Square Park on June 1, 2020 when protesters were forcefully cleared minutes before former President Donald Trump walked to St. John’s Episcopal Church.
WUSA9 collected evidence and showed video that proved federal police agencies fired tear gas canisters at protesters at and around Lafayette Square Park on June 1.
Protesters also reported seeing DC Police firing tear gas in their direction closer to 17th and H while fleeing federal police tear gas. The department has previously refused to say what, if any, tear gas munitions officers used on protesters that day. Leadership has said that its actions were to enforce Mayor Muriel Bowser’s 7 p.m. curfew.
It’s worth noting that the public officials responsible and their media allies — up to and including the Attorney General of the United States under Trump — lied their asses off about this for months:
From the podium: https://t.co/FyUynjYtdh (h/t @mikegehrke)— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) May 30, 2021
My mama always told me “when someone has clearly established themselves as a sleazy authoritarian liar their statements probably shouldn’t be taken at face value.” For the opposing perspective see the Twitter feed of Glenn Greenwald passim.