Washington protest: How aggressive politics and policing turned a peaceful protest into a violent confrontation

Washington CNN — When President Donald Trump first raised the idea Monday morning of emerging from the 13-foot gate that surrounds the White House, aides were skeptical. President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he visits outside St. John's Church across Lafayette Park from the White House Monday, June 1, 2020. A US defense official told reporters Monday that Esper and Milley “were not aware that the Park Police and law enforcement had made a decision to clear the square.” And the official suggested neither man planned to join Trump as he walked across Lafayette Square to the church. White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere claimed the perimeter was expanded to help enforce DC’s 7 p.m. curfew – an explanation that strained credulity given security forces began to fire tear gas and rubber bullets to push back protesters before the curfew came into effect. “The timing didn’t seem to work out for what the optics were.” A messy aftermath As night descended on the capital Monday, and groups of protesters remained in the street in spite of a city-ordered curfew, Milley, Esper and Barr took to the streets of Washington to survey the ongoing military and federal law enforcement effort to clear the streets of protesters.