The protest, which took place only days after the death of George Floyd, became violent when federal police disbursed the crowd using tear gas, rubber bullets, flash grenades and other military-grade weapons. A short time later, former President Donald Trump crossed the area where the protest had been held and posed for a photo while holding a bible in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
The settlement will resolve parts of four separate lawsuits brought by Black Lives Matter D.C. and 13 individual protesters represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of D.C. and several other groups. Scott Michelman, legal director for ACLU of D.C., said in a statement that the response to the protest was “a frontal assault on the fundamental American ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and racial justice.”
“We are pleased that the Biden Administration is taking an important step to protect protesters’ rights so that what happened on June 1, 2020 doesn’t happen again,” Michelman said of the settlement.
As part of the settlement, the U.S. Park Police (USPP) and the U.S. Secret Service will make key changes to the way that they respond to large protests. The changes, which will be implemented within 30 days, include requirements that USPP officers wear identification that is more clearly visible, improved communications between agencies and limits on the use of non-lethal weapons for crowd dispersal.
“The federal government is committed to the highest standards for protecting civil rights and civil liberties in any federal law enforcement response to public demonstrations,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement. “These changes to agency policies for protest responses will strengthen our commitment to protecting and respecting constitutionally protected rights.”
A report released last year by Interior Department Inspector General Mark Greenblatt found that the decision to disburse the protesters from Lafayette Square was made to install fencing, rather than to make way for Trump’s photo opportunity. However, the report also found that former U.S. Attorney General William Barr sped up the clearing process so that Trump could walk through the area.
“The use of tear gas and rubber bullets will never be enough to silence our voices or diminish our duty to demand an end to police violence against Black communities,” April Goggans, core organizer of Black Lives Matter D.C., said in a statement obtained by Newsweek.
“Today marks a win for the ongoing resistance against all attempts to subvert dissent,” Goggans added. “These attempts to disrupt the ability to organize for an end to the recurring trauma caused to Black communities by police attacks will not go unchallenged.”
The settlement does not resolve still-active claims for damages against Barr and officers from USPP, the Arlington Police Department and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
