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NEWS JUNE 15, 2020 ¦ 25

Justice Department lawyers
across presidential administra-
tions.
“Last Monday, the Attor-
ney General violated his oath
by overseeing violence against
peaceful protesters exercising
their First Amendment rights.
Those actions are irreconcilable
with the unbiased administration
of justice and the rule of law,” the
new statement from the Supreme
Court practitioners, former
clerks and constitutional law
scholars said.
Immediately after the protest- Office of the Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice in
Washington, D.C. June 6. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
ers were removed following the
use of rubber bullets, gas and pepper balls, the state- the national outrage of the police-involved death of
ment said, President Donald Trump, accompanied George Floyd in Minnesota.
by Barr and others, walked through the square to “Any other governmental official who facilitated
pose for photographs in front of St. John’s Episcopal or condoned deliberate harm to peaceful protest-
Church. ers—allowing the First Amendment to be sacrificed
“Simply put, these actions are immoral, undem- for perceived political gain—must also resign or be
ocratic, unlawful, and disqualifying for any official held accountable,” the statement said. “The rule of
in a democratic government,” the statement said. law depends on it.”
“The attorney general, who, according to multiple Civil rights groups, including Lawyers Commit-
sources (including the White House), orchestrated tee for Civil Rights Under Law and the American
the action, must resign or be removed by Con- Civil Liberties Union, last week filed a lawsuit
gress.” against Trump, Barr and other officials in Wash-
ington federal district court on behalf of Black
Barr has defended the forceful clearance of Lafay- Lives Matter DC and several protesters for violat-
ette Square, saying, in recent interviews, that Park ing their constitutional rights during the Lafayette
Police wanted a larger security perimeter around the Square protest.
White House. Trump administration officials have
claimed the protesters were engaged in violent acts. “This is a very dramatic example in how rights
Barr told the Associated Press that he did not give a enshrined in the First Amendment are all under
tactical command to initiate the move on the dem- challenge,”Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer senior
onstrators. counsel John Freedman, who is representing the
plaintiffs pro bono, said last week. “These are pro-
“I’m not involved in giving tactical commands testers who were engaged in nonviolent, peaceful
like that,” Barr said. “I was frustrated and I was also
worried that as the crowd grew, it was going to be
harder and harder to do. So my attitude was get it protest and senior government officials ordered that
done, but I didn’t say, ‘Go do it.’” they be assaulted.” ¦

The lawyers who signed Thursday’s statement
also called for an investigation to identify all others Marcia Coyle, based in Washington, covers the
involved in the Trump administration’s confronta- U.S. Supreme Court. Contact her at mcoyle@alm.
tion with demonstrators, who had assembled amid com. On Twitter: @MarciaCoyle

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