Barr says he didn’t give tactical order to clear protesters
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr says law enforcement officers were already moving to push back protesters from a park in front of the White House when he arrived there Monday evening, and he says he did not give a command to disperse the crowd, though he supported the decision.
Barr’s comments in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday were his most detailed explanation yet of what unfolded outside the White House earlier this week. They come after the White House and others said repeatedly that the attorney general ordered officers to clear the park. Shortly after officers aggressively pushed back demonstrators, President Donald Trump — accompanied by Barr, Pentagon leaders and other top advisers — walked through Lafayette Park to pose for a photo at a nearby church that had been damaged during the protests.
On Friday, Barr told the AP that both he and U.S. Park Police were in agreement on the need to push back the security perimeter. He said he attended a meeting around 2 p.m. Monday with several other law enforcement officials where they looked at a map and decided on a dividing line. Under the plan, the protesters would be moved away from Lafayette Park, Barr said.
Barr said the plan was supposed to be put into action soon after the meeting, but additional officers and National Guard troops had to be called in because of a high number of officers who had been injured throughout the weekend. It had not yet been implemented when he arrived at the park later in the evening, Barr said.
Still, he said he did not give the officers the orders to proceed — they were already in the process of doing so when he showed up.
“They told me they were about to make the announcement and I think they stretched the announcements over 20 minutes. During the time I was there, I would periodically hear announcements,” Barr said. “They had the Park Police mounted unit ready, so it was just a matter of execution. So, I didn’t just say to them, ‘Go.’ ”