{"id":2317471,"date":"2024-08-01T12:00:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/secret-service-caught-off-guard-by-trumps-2020-walk-to-st-johns-church-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-01T12:04:29","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T16:04:29","slug":"secret-service-caught-off-guard-by-trumps-2020-walk-to-st-johns-church-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/secret-service-caught-off-guard-by-trumps-2020-walk-to-st-johns-church-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Secret Service caught off guard by Trump\u2019s 2020 walk to St. John\u2019s Church &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsecret-service-caught-off-guard-by-trumps-2020-walk-to-st-johns-church-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2317471&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses a \u2063recent \u2064investigation into the actions of the \u2062U.S. Secret Service\u200b during former President Donald\u200d Trump&#8217;s \u2064impromptu walk to St. John&#8217;s Episcopal Church on June 1, 2020,\u2062 amid the George Floyd protests. The investigation \u200brevealed\u200c that the then-Secret Service Director, James Murray, was not informed about Trump&#8217;s intention to walk to the church until shortly before it occurred, and that there was no coordinated effort to clear Lafayette\u2062 Square of protesters prior \u200cto his arrival. This contradicts earlier \u2064media reports that suggested the area was\u200c hurriedly cleared\u2062 for \u200cTrump&#8217;s\u2062 notable\u2063 photo\u2064 opportunity in front of the church.<\/p>\n<p>The 160-page report \u200calso indicated that while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/public-radio-reporter-arrested-for-firebombing-police-cars\/\" title=\"Public Radio \u201cReporter\u201d Arrested For Firebombing Police Cars\">law enforcement officials<\/a> were aware of Trump&#8217;s plans, there was\u2064 no\u200d pressure to expedite the clearing of protesters. It criticized \u2063the communication and preparedness\u2063 issues within the Secret Service, notably in light of other incidents involving the \u200bagency. The report also addressed the role of former Attorney General Bill Barr, exonerating him \u200dof pushing for the area to be \u2063cleared but criticizing decision-making by the Justice Department during the tense protests. the findings highlight significant concerns regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-house-committee-chairman-blasts-biden-for-dragging-feet-on-defense-budget\/\" title=\"Dem House Committee Chairman Blasts Biden For \u2018Dragging Feet\u2019 on Defense Budget\">law enforcement&#8217;<\/a>s \u200chandling of the\u2064 situation and raise questions about agency protocols during crises.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Secret Service caught off guard by Trump&rsquo;s 2020 walk to St. John&rsquo;s Church<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1720285\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The former director of the U.S. Secret Service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/1209440\/former-secret-service-agent-says-park-police-had-to-know-about-trumps-walk-to-st-johns-church\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>did not know when<\/a> former President Donald Trump would walk to the fire-damaged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1004194\/please-pray-that-our-country-can-heal-firefighters-extinguish-fire-set-in-church-of-the-presidents-basement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>St. John&rsquo;s Episcopal Church<\/a> during the 2020 George Floyd riots until he showed up and felt no pressure to clear the adjacent Lafayette Square of protesters beforehand, according to a new investigation.<\/p>\n<p>In a Justice Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oversight.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/oig-reports\/DOJ\/24-085.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>inspector general&rsquo;s<\/a> report that clashed with news reports at the time, then-Secret Service Director James Murray was told at 5:30 p.m. on June 1, 2020, that the president wanted to visit the protest site and &ldquo;shake the hands&rdquo; of police called in to protect the church after it was burned the night before.<\/p>\n<p>But 40 minutes later, he was told the visit was &ldquo;scrapped.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Trump War Room &ndash; President Donald Trump holds up his Bible outside St. John&#8217;s Church in Washington, D.C. &ndash; June 2, 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Kti0sRMtFK\">pic.twitter.com\/Kti0sRMtFK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Curly Anne Sparrow (@CurlySparrow17Q) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CurlySparrow17Q\/status\/1619422378060316673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Said the just-released report, &ldquo;According to Murray, the next time he heard about the president walking outside, he was &lsquo;walking across Pennsylvania Avenue&rsquo;&rdquo; to the church.<\/p>\n<p>The 160-page report backed up an earlier Interior Department inspector general&rsquo;s report that said Lafayette Square across from the White House and the area around the church were not cleared of violent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/George-Floyd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>George Floyd<\/a> and antifa protesters because of Trump&rsquo;s visit.<\/p>\n<p>The new report went further, citing several law enforcement officials who said while they knew of the president&rsquo;s wishes, there was no pressure to speed up the already planned move to clear the park and erect a tall fence.<\/p>\n<p>A second Secret Service official cited by the report said that Trump&rsquo;s plan to visit the site after giving a national address from the Rose Garden on June 1 &ldquo;did not rush us at all.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The report threw cold water on media reports at the time that the area was hurriedly cleared so that Trump could stand in front of the church for one of his most notable photo ops as president. He arrived with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Bible<\/a> and held it up for photographers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Historic St. John&#8217;s Church, near the White House, is on fire.<\/p>\n<p>The church was built in 1816. Starting with James Madison, every president has attended services at St. James. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3gCBGyyx51\">pic.twitter.com\/3gCBGyyx51<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dcexaminer\/status\/1267289439824306178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Those reports enflamed anti-Trump forces who were protesting the death of Floyd, a black man, who died a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/politifact-is-ticked-that-we-fact-checked-their-false-fact-check\/\" title=\"PolitiFact Is Ticked That We Fact-Checked Their False Fact-Check\">week earlier<\/a> while in the custody of white Minneapolis police.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice report is the latest to find problems inside the Secret Service over communications and preparedness, recently highlighted by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3102977\/trump-assassination-attempt-task-force-led-butler-pennsylvania-republican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>attempted assassination<\/a> of Trump as he gave an outdoor speech last month in Butler, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>The focus of the report was former Attorney General Bill Barr and reports that he pushed to clear the area for Trump&rsquo;s walk. The report cleared him but was critical of his decisions during the tense days in late May and early June in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>It was also very critical of the Justice Department and other agencies involved in the mid-summer crisis.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Overall, we shared the serious concerns expressed to us by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/update-washington-d-c-mayor-muriel-bowser-was-warned-but-refused-any-additional-help-before-january-6th-vote-on-stolen-election\/\" title=\"UPDATE: Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Was Warned but Refused Any Additional Help Before January 6th Vote on Stolen Election\">law enforcement personnel<\/a> and were most troubled by the Department leadership&rsquo;s decision-making in putting DOJ law enforcement agents and elite tactical units in close proximity to the public and requiring them to perform missions for which they lacked the proper equipment and training,&rdquo; per the report. <\/p>\n<p>It continued, &ldquo;Multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/law-enforcement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>law enforcement<\/a> witnesses told us that these deployment decisions appeared to have been made hastily and without sufficient understanding of, and priority given to, the capabilities of those deployed, and that leadership did not timely and effectively communicate their decisions to subordinates and other non-DOJ agencies involved in the response.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SEE THE LATEST POLITICAL NEWS AND BUZZ FROM WASHINGTON SECRETS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That report noted that &ldquo;while we recognize that the civil unrest following George Floyd&rsquo;s murder was a highly unusual situation&rdquo; and there were significant challenges the department does not typically face, &ldquo;ensuring the safety of its personnel and the public should remain its utmost priority.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The report added, &ldquo;In the midst of a crisis, during pressure-filled moments when leadership must make hard decisions with little time to fully assess collateral and unintended consequences, the time-tested law enforcement practices and procedures that were collectively developed, after careful and calm deliberation, can and should be the first and most trusted resource for department leadership.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1720285\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1720285\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Secret Service was unprepared for former President Donald Trump&#8217;s walk to St. John&#8217;s Episcopal Church during the 2020 George Floyd protests, according to a recent investigation. The former Secret Service Director, James Murray, was informed at 5:30 p.m. on June 1, 2020, that Trump intended to visit the site of the protests and greet police officers protecting the church after it had been damaged by fire the previous night. However, just 40 minutes later, he was told that the visit had been canceled. The report revealed that when Murray next heard about Trump walking outside, he found out that Trump was already &#8220;walking across Pennsylvania Avenue&#8221; toward the church.<\/p>\n<p>This new information contradicts earlier media reports suggesting that Lafayette Square and its surroundings were cleared of protesters in a rush for Trump&#8217;s photo opportunity in front of the church with a Bible in hand. The report confirmed findings from an earlier Interior Department inspector general&#8217;s review indicating there was no urgency to clear protesters due to Trump&#8217;s planned visit.<\/p>\n<p>Several law enforcement officials stated they were aware of Trump&#8217;s intentions but felt no pressure to expedite plans for clearing Lafayette Square or erecting a fence around it. One official noted that Trump&#8217;s upcoming visit did not accelerate their timeline at all.<\/p>\n<p>The report also criticized communication and preparedness issues within the Secret Service and other agencies involved during this tumultuous period following George Floyd&#8217;s death while in police custody\u2014a situation which sparked widespread protests against racial injustice.<\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging challenges faced during this unprecedented civil unrest, it emphasized that ensuring safety should always be a top priority for law enforcement agencies and highlighted concerns over decision-making processes during crises<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2647,"featured_media":2317472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Trump-Church-Walk-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34163,36876,3634],"class_list":["post-2317471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-secret-service","tag-st-johns-church","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Trump-Church-Walk-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2647"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2317472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}