CLAIM: The Biden campaign is repeating a lie that former President Donald Trump tear-gassed peaceful protesters gathered outside of the White House in Lafayette Square for a photo-op.
VERDICT: FALSE. This has been debunked countless times and has been proven false. The inspector general of the U.S. Department of Interior released a report in June 2021 that exonerated Trump from claims that he had tear-gassed peaceful protesters gathered in Lafayette Square in June 2020 to walk through the park to have a photo-op at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
The Biden campaign posted a video in a post on X on Saturday night, claiming that “four years ago,” on that date, “Trump tear gassed peaceful protesters outside the White House.”
Four years ago today, Trump tear gassed peaceful protestors outside the White House pic.twitter.com/jryy1st48P
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) June 2, 2024
The inspector general’s report confirmed Trump’s and former Attorney General William Barr’s version of what had happened that day.
Protests began in and around Lafayette Park on May 29, 2020. On May 30, the USPP [U.S. Park Police] and U.S. Secret Service established a unified command to coordinate the law enforcement response to the protests.