horses, close up against the police line, no gas masks:
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/867532070/trumps-unannounced-church-visit-angers-church-officials
The crowd was not friendly and continued to be uncooperative and confrontive for over 90 minutes after being asked to leave, including completely disrespecting our military service members. Prior to being asked to leave, it’s alleged that stashes of ‘stuff’ were found in the vicinity. After finding incendary devices the night prior (this has been reported by media already), caution was exercised.
1. “ a bottle [was thrown] in the direction of Attorney General Bill Barr. Barr, a top Trump ally, was surveying the scene and reportedly personally ordered law enforcement to push the protesters back.”
2. “ At approximately 6:33 pm, violent protestors on H Street NW began throwing projectiles including bricks, frozen water bottles and caustic liquids, acting Chief Gregory Monahan said in the official statement. Intelligence had revealed calls for violence against the police, and officers found caches of glass bottles, baseball bats and metal poles hidden along the street.
https://www.vox.com/2020/6/2/21278559/tear-gas-white-house-protest-park-police
3. When told to disburse, the ‘peaceful’ protestors refused to leave although they had all day to yell their heads off.
“Newsham confirmed federal officers gave warnings around 6:30 p.m. for protestors to disperse...”
4. According to CNN, the first smoke seen was “5 minutes before the Rose Garden presser”.
https://twitter.com/AlliemalCNN/status/1267588286840803328
So not only was there more than one reason to clear the area, the threat of a repeat of the prior night was high, the CNN video puts smoke approx. 3/4 hour earlier than the Lafayette order at 6:38. And somewhere other than where the Reuter’s reporter was with the Lafayette group.
5. Trump started for the church AFTER curfew. Curfew doesn’t mean stay around 4 more hours or sit on the corner until 7pm to leave - it means be home by 7pm for dinner, just like Mom would say. Los Angeles enforced their 6pm curfew on time, too. I don’t know how long it takes to walk from the Rose Garden to St. Johns, but...
according to the NYTimes account, “Mr. Trump began his walk to the church at 7:01 p.m.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/us/politics/trump-st-johns-church-bible.html
At 7:01 the crowd had already been pushed back to the AFL/CIO intersection.
6. Arrests had already begun by 7pm (see below, at end of Reuters tape, reporter commenting he heard flashbangs ‘in the distance’ but he was at the AFL/CIO bldg.intersection)
“54 arrests were made around 17 and I at 7:20 p.m., primarily for curfew violation. 194 arrests were made around the 1400 block of Swann Street. There were also some arrests made among a group of roughly 300 protestors near Judiciary Square. Newsham says they were becoming aggressive, so DC Police used sting balls, CS spray, and OC spray to disperse that group.”
https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/06/02/mpd-made-over-300-arrests-last-night/
As you can see in this Reuters video, there are water bottles on the ground in front of the police line at the start of the video. At about 27 minutes in, a piece of concrete is thrown and heard hitting the shield of an officer. It can be seen on the ground. Approx 3 min later, a percussion grenade (white smoke) was fired but people were already running when they saw the launchers come out. From 27 to 29 minutes into the video, numerous objects are thrown at the police line. At about 30 min in, you can clearly see the horse line behind the police line, which by now has fired about 3 percussion grenades. Notice one guy walks right into the smoke and out again. At 31 minutes, a pepperball grenade is fired. By 32 minutes you can see a guy in a black t-shirt with white pepperball stuff on the back. They are by modern buildings not a church. At 56min in, is a guy with a water-bottle cart talking to another coordinator. At 57min in, you can see the church right frame, well away from the police line and the reporter. At one hour in, at the AFL/CIO intersection, another order to disburse is given by an officer in a white shirt and a time is given: 7:08.
A ‘move back’ was given 13 minutes later at approx. 7:20pm. 2 minutes later, guitar man is taken out for grabbing a cop’s bike. Second ‘move back’. Bicycles withdraw and crowd moves forward to challenge military/DHS police line. It is now well after 7:30pm. The horses have withdrawn at this point also and in the closeup of the MPs, St. Johns can be seen well in the background. At 1hr:23min in, the reporter asks if Trump has done his thing. At 1hr:29min we get Xinhau players followed by Mr. FU full mask. And Mr. Stare old guy in the grey windbreaker at 1hr:36min in. At 1hr:47min Mr. Stare has been collared; he’s wearing a red ‘medic’ label around his neck. At 1hr:48min the Reuters reporter is walking away from the police line and is about at the parking garage when he comments he heard some flashbangs ‘in the distance’. Right after that the crowd he left is running towards him as a guy on a bicycle falls over and neon green headscarf chick is collared and maybe a few others; Reuters guy gets interested in the sky. Double police lines form, they’re boxed, and let pass by twos and threes - keep walking. And the party is over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrMoqSPZym0
Can you please tell me which white smoke was tear gas? I think the pepperball shot was the one that sparkled?
How does the Reuter’s timeline and the CNN putting the smoke prior to the presser, differ from other timelines?
please donate if you can, also please vote this month! for my people in new york JUNE 23!! Lets be apart of the change we want to see in the future of this country! https://t.co/DYF7cQOvRA— daniel (@mycyborgself) June 3, 2020
The action in front of the church started about 25 minutes before the 7pm curfew. One minute people were chatting, the next they were running and stumbling and white “smoke” was billowing around them. The next day a young reporter who said he was gassed there that day showed an OC, oleoresin capsicum canister he had picked up the day before for journalistic evidence. Here is info on OC vs tear gas: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/181655.pdf
I saw no overt violent acts before the people at the church were sent running. At other times, mostly quite late I saw one man dressed in black with a thick metal pipe smash in a large plate glass window, probably on 16th st. Another man I saw picked up a large piece of broken plywood that had been leaning against a burning trash container. He then went to a broken door and threw the burning board into the building. In both cases I did not see someone next to them helping or encouraging them. The “smoke” I saw was definitely being discharged around 6:35 by the church area.
Your item #2 does not say where on H St this occurred.