{"id":558660,"date":"2021-06-09T18:51:22","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T22:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=558660"},"modified":"2021-06-09T18:51:25","modified_gmt":"2021-06-09T22:51:25","slug":"legacy-media-peddled-the-lie-that-trump-cleared-peaceful-protesters-for-a-photo-op","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legacy-media-peddled-the-lie-that-trump-cleared-peaceful-protesters-for-a-photo-op\/","title":{"rendered":"Legacy Media Peddled The Lie That Trump Cleared Peaceful Protesters For A \u2018Photo-Op\u2019"},"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\">26<\/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%2Flegacy-media-peddled-the-lie-that-trump-cleared-peaceful-protesters-for-a-photo-op%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=558660&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--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1216828185-1-scaled-e1623275082568.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>Legacy media pushed a story claiming that police cleared peaceful protesters from the area near Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., during a demonstration in order to let then-President Donald Trump pose for a photo-op. That story has been definitively proven false.<\/p>\n<p>The Park Police cleared Black Lives Matter protesters in Washington, D.C., from the area between St. John\u2019s Church and Lafayette Park in June 2020. Police <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/06\/02\/lafayette-park-tear-gas-police-trump-st-johns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">used<\/a> flash-bangs and other non-lethal crowd-control munitions to clear the area. However, a Wednesday <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/09\/protesters-werent-forcibly-cleared-lafayette-park-because-donald-trump-photo-op-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">report<\/a>\u00a0from Interior Department inspector general Mark Greenblatt determined that the Park Police had planned to clear the area before anyone knew Trump\u2019s plans to walk <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/06\/01\/president-trump-walks-out-white-house-holds-up-bible-st-johns-church\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">over<\/a> and that Trump\u2019s presence had nothing to do with the Park Police\u2019s decision to clear the area. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/09\/trump-thanks-inspector-general-exonerating-lafayette-park\/\">(RELATED: Trump Thanks Inspector General For \u2018Exonerating\u2019 Him Over Lafayette Park)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Police had planned to clear the area in advance in order to install extra fencing after the riots that took place May 30 and 31, according to the report. Tear gas was used by Washington, D.C., police, but reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/09\/protesters-werent-forcibly-cleared-lafayette-park-because-donald-trump-photo-op-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not<\/a> by Park Police.<\/p>\n<p>Still, establishment coverage ran with the narrative that the park had been cleared for a photoshoot. In a June 1 segment, CNN reported that \u201cpeaceful protesters\u201d near the White House were \u201cgassed\u201d and \u201cshot with rubber bullets\u201d so that Trump could have a \u201cchurch photo-op.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"10.66275659824\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">That Park Police violently cleared Lafayette Park at Trump\u2019s behest was treated as unquestioned truth by corporate media.<\/p>\n<p>Today it was revealed by the independent IG Report to be an utter falsehood. Watch how readily and easily they spread lies. From CNN on June 1: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2CG7k3GpZN\">pic.twitter.com\/2CG7k3GpZN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ggreenwald\/status\/1402718252233641994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 9, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>NPR also claimed that the park was cleared so that Trump could take a photo. The outlet ran an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/06\/02\/867578108\/peaceful-protesters-tear-gassed-to-clear-way-for-trump-church-visit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">article<\/a> the morning of June 2, 2020, titled: \u201cPeaceful Protesters Tear Gassed To Clear Way For Trump Church Visit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The New York Times cited an \u201cofficial familiar with the events\u201d who said the president\u2019s advisors \u201chatched a plan\u201d to have him visit the church.<\/p>\n<p>Protesters \u201cwere hit with flash-bang explosions and doused with tear gas,\u201d the Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/06\/01\/us\/politics\/trump-st-johns-church-bible.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a>. \u201cIt was because the president, who spent part of the weekend in a secure bunker as protests roiled, wanted to have his picture taken holding a Bible at a battered church just beyond the gates.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/06\/02\/ben-sasse-hits-trump-for-photos-outside-st-johns-church\/\">(RELATED: Ben Sasse Goes After Trump For \u2018Photo Op\u2019 Outside St. John\u2019s Church \u2014 Says He Held Bible As \u2018Political Prop\u2019)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the time, none of the protesters or nearby journalists knew the reason for clearing the street,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/after-night-significant-damage-d-c-mayor-bowser-imposes-earlier-n1221126\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NBC News<\/a> said of the incident. \u201cBut the purpose became clear as soon as Trump finished his speech in the Rose Garden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/06\/02\/trump-protests-military-force-296368\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Politico<\/a> declared that Trump had faced \u201ccondemnation for clearing protesters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Donald Trump faced withering criticism in the hours after spurring a violent incursion against apparently peaceful protesters for the purposes of staging a political photo opportunity,\u201d the outlet wrote.<\/p>\n<p>On <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/news\/video\/police-tear-gas-push-back-peaceful-protesters-trump-71015255\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Good Morning America<\/a>, host George Stephanopoulos repeated the false claim that police cleared the area for Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Stephanopoulos said that \u201cthe administration asked police to clear peaceful protesters from the park across the White House so the president could stage a photo-op.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the claims being proven false, some in the media doubled down. MSNBC host Joy Reid refused to admit that the media got the story wrong.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we\u2019ve now reached the \u2018whitewash police history\u2019 phase of our slow metamorphosis into Putinite Russia,\u201d she <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoyAnnReid\/status\/1402717998633394178?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> on Twitter. \u201cPerfect.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legacy media pushed a story claiming that police cleared peaceful protesters from the area near Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., during a demonstration in order to let then-President Donald Trump &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2279811,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1216828185-1-scaled-e1623275082568.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Legacy Media Peddled The Lie That Trump Cleared Peaceful Protesters For A \u2018Photo-Op\u2019","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-558660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1216828185-1-scaled-e1623275082568.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Legacy Media Peddled The Lie That Trump Cleared Peaceful Protesters For A \u2018Photo-Op\u2019","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558660","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2279811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}