Protesters and police clash near Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020.

Tyrone Turner / DCist/WAMU

The U.S. Secret Service now says that it used pepper spray while clearing protesters from Lafayette Square on June 1 before the president’s photo-op outside St. John’s Church, a reversal from previous denials.

In a statement released Saturday, the Secret Service said it initially determined none of its officers had used pepper spray “based on the records and information available at the time,” but has since learned of one employee who used “oleoresin capsicum spray,” also known as pepper spray, “in response to an assaultive individual.”

Since the incident in Lafayette Square, law enforcement agencies and the White House have made a series of statements that contradict the experience of people on the ground and video footage of the incident.

The Secret Service and U.S. Park Police both denied using tear gas, even though protesters and reporters said they were hit with the chemical irritant.

Park Police have said they used smoke canisters and pepper balls. But one U.S. Park Police spokesperson told Vox it was a “mistake” to claim its officers never used tear gas because the pepper balls officers shot cause irritation. Another spokesperson has continued to deny the use of tear gas.

The White House also said law enforcement cleared the Square because demonstrators were throwing objects and that authorities gave three warnings over the loudspeakers. Witnesses dispute these claims and say the aggressive law enforcement response was unprovoked.

The city was under a 7 p.m. curfew on June 1, but around 6:30, officers began to forcefully push demonstrators out of Lafayette Square, clearing the way for President Trump’s appearance at St. John’s.

The president has faced widespread criticism over the removal of protesters.

Chairman of a House Oversight subcommittee, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) has demanded information from the Secret Services about the use of tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters.

Several local residents and Black Lives Matter D.C. have also filed a lawsuit against President Trump and other senior administration officials, arguing that law enforcement violated protesters’ constitutional rights.

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