Arlington cops are pulled out of Washington DC in row over being used to clear protesters with tear gas so President Trump could walk to St. John's Church - as Bishop says she is 'outraged' president 'used it as a prop'
- On Monday President Donald Trump cleared out the area in front of the historic St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House so he could visit
- National Guardsmen and police used tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse peaceful protesters in front of the White House
- Following the use of force, Arlington County Police said they would remove their officers in the area who aided in the clash with protesters
- The Episcopal Bishop of Washington DC, Bishop Mariann Budde, slammed the president for using force 'to use the church as a prop'
- Politicians Joe Biden, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Rep. Val Demings have slammed the president for using military force against protesters
Arlington County police are being called out of Washington D.C. after officers assisted US Park officials disperse George Floyd protesters using tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the area for President Donald Trump’s photo opportunity at St. John’s Church.
Officers in ACPD helmets and riot gear were seen aiding park police push out crowds near St. John’s Church and Lafayette Park on Monday evening ahead of the president’s visit to the church, which was burned in protests last night.
Arlington officials said they did not know officers would be used to clash with protesters and have ordered their police back home.
'Appalled mutual aid agreement abused to endanger their and others safety for a photo op. We ordered @ArlingtonVaPD to immediately leave DC,' County Board Chair Libby Garvey tweeted Monday night, about two hours after Trump's photo session.
Trump has been slammed by the Episcopal Bishop of Washington DC for using the church as a 'photo op' after using force against demonstrators, as politicians including presidential candidate Joe Biden and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo condemn the president's actions.
President Donald Trump is being slammed by church leaders and politicians for using tear gas and pepper spray to clear out protesters near St. John's Church so he could visit the chapel for a photo opportunity on Monday evening where he carried a Bible in hand
Arlington County police are now being called out of Washington D.C. after officers assisted US Park officials in dispersing George Floyd protesters using tear gas and rubber bullets for Trump's photo op. Officers with ACPD helmets pictured clashing with protesters above
Officers with the Arlington County Police Department pictured pushing back demonstrators outside of the White House above
'Appalled mutual aid agreement abused to endanger their and others safety for a photo op. We ordered @ArlingtonVaPD to immediately leave DC,' Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey tweeted Monday night, about two hours after Trump's photo session
The Episcopal Bishop of Washington DC, Bishop Mariann Budde, slammed the president for using force 'to use the church as a prop'
The president spoke in a televised speech from the Rose Garden on Monday evening and tear gas canisters could be heard exploding in the background before he walked over to the church and posed holding a Bible.
Mere hours after his speech Arlington County officials withdrew the cops they sent over following a mutual aid request from Park Police, which is usually used for suspect searches or to assistant with significant incidents.
'At the direction of the County Board, County Manager and Police Chief, ACPD officers have left the District. We are evaluating the agreements that allowed our officers to be put in a compromising position, which devalued the purpose of these mutual aid obligations,' County Board member Katie Cristol said.
ACPD began providing support on Sunday.
'ACPD’s Civil Disturbance Unit responded to a mutual aid request by United States Park Police for assistance maintain peace and order on federal park land,' a department spokeswoman said to ARLNow.
The protesters in the area Monday evening appeared to be acting peacefully before they were forced out through the aggressive measures including rubber bullets, pepper spray, and tear gas.
Meanwhile from the Rose Garden Trump said he’s an ally of peaceful demonstrators but warned, 'I am your president of law and order.'
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Trump visited the boarded up church, which caught fire during protests on Sunday evening, for photos on Monday evening alongside U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany
The president pictured walking in Lafayette Park to visit St. John's church from the White House on Monday evening
A U.S. Secret Service counter assault team member carries a sniper rifle through Lafayette Park as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a photo opportunity in front of St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House amid George Floyd protests
The Episcopal Bishop of Washington DC, Mariann Budde, also slammed Trump for using force to push out George Floyd protesters and for posing in front of the embattled church.
Bishop Budde said: 'I am outraged. I am the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and was not given even a courtesy call that they would be clearing with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop, holding a Bible, one that declares that God is love and when everything he has said and done is to enflame violence.'
Budde said neither she nor the rector were told that authorities would be clearing protesters with tear gas, she said to the Washington Post.
She added: 'We so disassociate ourselves from the messages of this president. We hold the teachings of our sacred texts to be so so grounding to our lives and everything we do and it is about love of neighbor and sacrificial love and justice'.
She appeared on CNN Monday evening bashing Trump's photo op as an 'abuse of a sacred symbol to justify an approach to this crisis that is antithetical to everything that we stand for.'
Budde said the church would disassociate from the Trump administration
The historic church caught on fire Sunday evening amid police clashes with protesters. The cause of the fire is not known
Orange flames pictured erupting from a part of the church Sunday night
Budde blasted Trump while speaking on CNN after it was revealed that protesters near the church were hit with tear gas and rubber bullets before the president arrived
The president posed for photographers, holding a Bible as he stood in front of the boarded-up 200-year-old church, that has been visited by every president since James Madison.
'We have a great country. It won’t take long. It’s not going to take long to see what is going on. It’s coming back, and it’s coming back strong. It will be greater than ever before,' Trump said as the clamor of protesters, helicopters and explosions are heard in the background.
Presidential candidate Joe Biden also condemned Trump's use of military action against protesters.
'He's using the American military against the American people. He tear-gassed peaceful protesters and fired rubber bullets. For a photo. For our children, for the very soul of our country, we must defeat him. But I mean it when I say this: we can only do it together,' Biden tweeted Monday evening.
Florida Rep. Val Demings tweeted: 'When we impeached this president, we warned that he was a dictator in waiting. I believe now what I believed then: this president is a threat to our democracy, our families, and to us.'
New York Andrew Cuomo slammed the president as 'shameful' for dispersing peaceful protesters for his own agenda
CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlin Collins tweeted Trump was angry about news coverage that he fled into a White House bunker on Friday during George Floyd protests and told his aides he wanted to be seen outside the White House gates, prompting his walk to St. Johns.
Trump pictured walking past a building defaced with graffiti by protesters in Lafayette Park on Monday after his photo opportunity at St. John's Church
The president pictured pumping his first as he walks through a line of riot police in Lafayette Park across from the White House as he waked to St. John's church on Monday
New York Andrew Cuomo slammed the president as 'shameful' for using military force to disperse peaceful protesters for his own agenda.
'The president is calling out the American military against American citizens. He used the military to push out a peaceful protest so he could have a photo op at a church. It's all just a reality TV show for this president. Shameful,' Cuomo tweeted Monday evening.
CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlin Collins tweeted Trump was angry about news coverage that he fled into a White House bunker on Friday during George Floyd protests and told his aides he wanted to be seen outside the White House gates, prompting his walk to St. Johns.
