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Before the conflict truly heated up across the nation, something was lit in Washington that night. Hundreds of protestors had gathered in and around Lafayette Square north of the White House. Swyngedouw would call these protestors insurgent architects, as many of them had erected temporary shelters to encamp in front of the mansion. Instead of the usual pushback though, these architects fell under a hailfire of rubber bullets, tear gas, and police cavalry charges as ordered by the president. To hear an insider’s perspective, the Post interviewed Major Adam DeMarco with the Washington National Guard, a liaison between his unit and the U.S. Park Police. He reported that evening federal officials stockpiled “7,000 rounds of ammunition” in the Washington Armory and Park Police officers requested of the Pentagon “a microwave-like weapon called the Active Denial System” known for causing nerve damage.58 Thankfully, the Pentagon never presented law enforcement with such a device and the rounds of live ammunition were never used. The evening was still traumatizing for many eyewitnesses though. Major DeMarco left Lafayette Square thoroughly disturbed. Having served many tours in the Middle East, he had first-hand experience with violent conflict. Not once had he felt threatened by the protestors, yet they had been treated like insurgents.59 Those protestors’ freedom of assembly had been denied. Comically, or perhaps harrowingly, once the smoke had cleared, President Trump and his staff crossed the street for a photo-op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. The photo of the president clutching a Bible was criticized by major media outlets as being out of touch, a horrible reminder of the despotism in place. Post columnist Rick Noack wrote that the Lafayette Square purge had reminded him of his visits to the Kremlin.60 In that same article, Noack spoke with American landscape architect Gina Ford. She stated that many Americans should be concerned if their public spaces suddenly host riot police, barricades, and senseless acts of violence.61 The purge of Lafayette Square was only the beginning though. No one could have imagined the horror that would descend on Washington in the new year.
Figure 19: President Trump photographed at St. John’s Episcopal Church after ordering protestors be purged from Lafayette Square. [NPR]
56 WLKY, May 31, 2020, https://www. wlky.com/article/protesters-gather-indowntown-louisville-calling-for-justicein-breonna-taylor-case-# 57 KOIN, December 31, 2020, https:// www.koin.com/news/protests/ portland-protests-what-happened-in2020-whats-next-in-2021/ 58 This is not the first time such equipment has been requested. It was used in Afghanistan and Iraq during the war, and the Trump Administration had requested similar equipment forICE at the U.S.-Mexico Border. Marissa J. Lang, “Federal officials stockpiled munitions, sought ‘heat ray’ device before clearing Lafayette Square, whistleblower says,” The Washington Post, September 17, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost. com/local/dc-protest-lafayettesquare/2020/09/16/ca0174e4-f78811ea-89e3-4b9efa36dc64_story.html 59 Ibid. 60 Former Russian President Vladimir Putin restricted protests through legislation and blocked off the Red Square outside of the Kremlin through much of the late-twentieth and earlytwenty-first centuries. These measures protected his corrupt government from hordes of protesting citizens. Rick Noack, “How the clearing of Lafayette Square made the White House look a bit more like the Kremlin,” The Washington Post, June 11, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ world/2020/06/11/how-clearing-lafay... remlin/?utm_medium=social&utm_ source=twitter&utm_campaign=wp_ main 61 Ford went on to explain that the purge of Lafayette Square could serve as a template for further protest suppression across the U.S. Ibid.
Figure 20: Map of the night of June 1. [The New York Times]
