United States Attorney General Bill Barr praised President Donald Trump’s Monday evening deployment of National Guard troops and law enforcement officials.
Barr, in a statement released by the Justice Department Tuesday, wrote that “last night was a more peaceful night in the District of Columbia.”
“I am grateful to Chief Peter Newsham and the Metropolitan Police Department for their outstanding work and professionalism,” he continued. “I also thank Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley, and the men and women of the Department of Defense for their support. I am particularly impressed by the citizen-soldiers of the D.C. National Guard, who are committed to serving their community, and did so with great effectiveness last night.”
US President Donald Trump walks with US Attorney General William Barr (L), US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper (C), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark A. Milley (R), and others from the White House to visit St. John’s Church after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Barr noted that the National Guard and D.C. officers policing the 7:00 pm curfew ordered by Mayor Muriel Bowser were aided by “FBI, Secret Service, Park Police, ATF, DEA, Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Service, Capitol Police, Department of Homeland Security’s CBP and Border Patrol units.” (RELATED: US Secret Service Erects New 8-Ft Fence Expanding White House Perimeter — Will Keep Protesters Out Of Lafayette Square)
Finally, he pledged that “there will be even greater law enforcement resources and support in the region tonight. The most basic function of government is to provide security for people to live their lives and exercise their rights, and we will meet that responsibility here in the nation’s capital.”
By all accounts, Barr, of all the senior administration figures, has been arguably the most publicly supportive of Trump’s handling of the protesters and rioters. He was present on Monday’s conference call between Trump and state governors, during which the president urged states to deploy National Guard troops to “dominate” the streets.
He has also echoed Trump’s claim that antifa and other far-left groups are behind the majority of the violent rioting and looting that have followed daytime protests in cities across the country.
“It is time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it,” he said in a statement on Sunday. “The continued violence and destruction of property endangers the lives and livelihoods of others, and interferes with the rights of peaceful protestors, as well as all other citizens.”