In the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, protests against society’s systemic racism and police violence against people of color have sprung up throughout the nation. On June 1, 202, protesters gathered on the north side of Lafayette Park, which is across the street from the White House, chanting and holding signs demanding an end to racial injustice. St. John’s Episcopal Church, located on the north side of H Street across from the park, had established an aid station on its patio—staffed by members of the church and the Episcopalian community—to provide food, water, and any necessary medical assistance to protesters.
In response to the protests, a phalanx of federal law enforcement officers from agencies including the Secret Service, National Guard, and Bureau of Prisons assembled in full riot gear at the north edge of Lafayette park and on H Street. At approximately 6:15 pm, federal officers began deploying chemical irritants (“tear gas”) and projectile bombs against the protesters as part of a military-style assault to disperse protesters and clear the way for the president to walk to St. John’s Church for a photo-op. Federal officers stormed onto the church patio with metal shields, driving off those who were assembled there to aid and support the protesters. Rutherford Institute attorneys allege that the Trump Administration violated the First and Fourth Amendments by seizing church property and preventing church members from exercising their religious rights.
The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, educates the public about threats to their freedoms, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated, and strives to make the government play by the rules of the Constitution.
The Rutherford Institute’s letter to President Trump is available at www.rutherford.org.
Source: https://bit.ly/3cRAGWw
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