Justice Dept. OIG Releases Report on Agency’s Response to 2020 D.C. Protests
Published by The Lawfare Institute
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On July 31, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a report reviewing the Justice Department’s response to “protest activity and civil unrest” in Washington, D.C. in May and June 2020.
Following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, large crowds of protesters congregated each night between May 29 and June 6, 2020 at Lafayette Square in front of the White House. Several law enforcement agencies under the purview of the Justice Department sent officers to patrol the area.
The review examined law enforcement conduct in the area during the aforementioned period of unrest, focusing on efforts to construct a fence on H Street following violence on May 29 and subsequently clear protestors from Lafayette Park on June 1.
The OIG found that former Attorney General William Barr did not personally issue the order to clear protesters Lafayette Park near the White House, contrary to a senior department official’s claim at the time that Barr had told law enforcement officials to “[g]et it done.”
“[W]e found that the decision to clear the area of protesters on the evening of June 1 was made by the [U.S. Park Police] and [U.S. Secret Service] unified command at Lafayette Park and not by Barr, and that Barr did not impact the timing of the clearing operation,” the report stated.
The report also found that Barr’s leadership was “chaotic and disorganized,” which led to “standard practices and procedures being set aside.”
You can read the report here or below:
