FILE – In this June 1, 2020 file photo police move demonstrators away from St. John’s Church across Lafayette Park from the White House, as they gather to protest the death of George Floyd in Washington. Only a few legacy-defining moments have clung to President Donald Trump. But the forceful clearing of demonstrators from the park across from the White House has resonated like few others, sending Trump’s poll numbers tumbling and prompting top military leaders and usually lockstep Republicans to distance themselves from the president. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP
On the evening of June 1, Rafi Prober was at home with his children as the television news showed federal authorities violently clearing protesters in Lafayette Square, near the White House, to make way for President Donald Trump to have a photo op holding up a Bible outside St. John’s Church.
Recalling the live footage, Prober, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, said he was struck, his “jaw on the ground in horror,” as protesters were beaten with batons and smothered in what appeared to be tear gas.
