Judge Set to Rule on Immunity For Police at Lafayette Square

WASHINGTON -- A Washington, D.C. federal judge is expected to rule within days on whether lawsuits can go forward that accuse police of violating protesters’ civil rights for the way they cleared Lafayette Square last year after the killing of George Floyd.

The lawsuits are filed against former President Donald Trump, former Attorney General William Barr and local and federal police agencies. The Justice Department is seeking dismissal.

“We respectfully submit that the conduct here was so flagrantly unlawful and so obviously unconstitutional that it requires a remedy,” an attorney for the plaintiffs said at a hearing last week. “And we are here today, your honor, to do everything we can to see that nothing like this ever happens again in our country."

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and flashbang grenades against protesters on June 1, 2020 to clear a path for Trump as he walked to a nearby church for a photo opportunity holding a Bible.

Trump was accompanied by some of his staff members, such as Barr and Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since then, Milley has apologized for participating in the photo op.

Barr and the police argue they cannot be sued because they are protected by a qualified immunity from lawsuits granted by federal law to government officials.

The only exception -- and the issue in U.S. District Court -- allows lawsuits when police violate “clearly established” law.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich seemed skeptical of the police action when she pointed out that the protesters were peaceful and added, “You just can’t wail on someone with batons if they’re running away from you.”

Justice Department attorney John Martin argued, “Presidential security is paramount. No officer has ever been denied immunity for clearing an area before an appearance by the president.”

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