On the first day of June in the wake of the horrible events in Minneapolis, protests in reaction to the police murder took place around the country and continued for day after day. The protest promptly came to Washington. The protests in Washington were almost entirely peaceful and for the most part were comprised of ordinary people disgusted by the terrible injustice in Minnesota and showing solidarity for Afro Americans who have suffered so much over the years.
Despite the peaceful nature of the composition of the protests President Trump labeled the people taking part as “terrorists” and criminals. Soon regular army units appeared in the Washington area, federal helicopters flew low over the city to disperse crowds, soldiers in camouflage deployed on the Lincoln Memorial and federal law enforcement roamed around downtown. President Trump threatened to use active duty military forces to put down protests around the country by invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807. This allows such deployments at the request of the Governor or Mayor of a location. The DC Mayor was strongly opposed to what Trump had already done in the District. There are two narrow exceptions to the request provision but few except the president believed the peaceful protests qualified under either of the exceptions.
Suddenly late in the day a phalanx of armed riot police using unquestionably excessive force opened a path from the White House to St. John’s Church on the other side of Lafayette Square. Some wore an insignia and were apparently prison guards from a facility in Texas. Trump wanted a photo op in front of the church. This was just after having made a short speech in the Rose Garden on the other side of the White House during which he declared he was the “Law and Order” president.
Allegedly this idea came from Attorney General Barr who seemed to have forgotten that the Bill of Rights permitted peaceful protest or in the words of the Constitution “freedom of assembly.” After shoving, pushing and tear gassing ordinary citizens a path was opened. Trump brought with him a number of senior officials including the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs who were at the White House on other business. Trump got his photo op, posing in front of the church—without asking the Bishop of Washington who later expressed her outrage—standing with several officials and awkwardly holding up a Bible.
Afterwards there was a tidal wave of objections led by retired former military leaders as reported in the New York Times on June 5th.
Said General James Mattis recently Secretary of Defense: “Never did I dream that troops taking that oath would be ordered under any circumstances to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska said that Mattis’ remarks were “true and honest and necessary and overdue.” Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah said he found the remarks by General Mattis, “stunning and powerful”.
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Richard Myers, expressed “absolute sadness” at the sight of the events on Lafayette Square.
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Martin Dempsey had earlier said on CNN that calling the military in to suppress mostly peaceful protest “was very dangerous to me.” Secretary of Defense Esper, as reported in The Military Times, said to reporters in a Pentagon briefing on June 3rd that “The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a last resort and only in the most urgent and dire situations.” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley afterwards said publicly that he should not have been there. And the next day he issued a memorandum to the top active duty military leaders affirming the military’s commitments to the values of the Constitution and which said “We all committed to the idea of America. We will stay true to that oath and the American people.” At the end of the day a tall fence was erected, expanding the White House perimeter into Lafayette Square.
Perhaps President Trump had dreamt the night before he was a reincarnation of Benito Mussolini who had marched in Rome on 1922 to establish the first fascist state. Instead of Rome it was St. John’s Church for him.
And our Founders certainly would have had a view on this. They had deep suspicion of standing armies which is why the Constitution has no provision for such.
“A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions for liberty. The means of defense against foreign danger have always been the instruments of tyranny at home.” — James Madison 1787
“…standing armies, in time of pace should be avoided as dangerous to liberty, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by the civil power.” — George Mason 1776
“The way to serve Peace is to be prepared for War.” — Benjamin Franklin 1747
“That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the proper natural, and safe defense of a free state.” — George Mason 1776
“It follows that as certain as night succeeds the day that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive and with, everything honorable and glorious.” — George Washington 1781
And to close again with General Mattis: “Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.”
John Jay