• The Secret Service released a statement saying that an agency employee used pepper spray on protesters on June 1 ahead of President Trump’s photo op in front of St John’s Episcopal Church.
  • To make way for the president’s photo op, law enforcement violently expelled peaceful protesters outside the White House with flash bang grenades and tear gas.
  • The Secret Service previously denied that any official used pepper spray ahead of Trump’s walk to the church.
  • The photo op was highly controversial, with church leaders from across the country condemning Trump for the move.
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The U.S. Secret Service admitted to using pepper spray on peaceful protesters on June 1 to clear a path for President Trump’s walk to St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington DC.

President Trump and his administration repeatedly denied allegations that any officials used tear gas on protesters ahead of the president’s walk, despite a plethora of video footage, photographs, and witnesses attesting to the use of the chemical.

The Secret Service also initially denied the use of any tear gas at the event, but the organization changed its tune after an internal investigation.

The Secret Service released a statement on the matter on Twitter on Saturday.

"The agency has learned that one agency employee used capsicum spray (i.e., pepper spray)" when securing the area near Lafayette Park, the statement read. The statement went on to say the spray was used in response "to an assaultive individual."

As Business Insider previously reported, Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign's communications director, claimed that pepper compound and smoke don't qualify as tear gas. But the CDC defines tear gas as "chemical compounds that temporarily make people unable to function by causing irritation to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs, and skin."

Likewise, Attorney General William Barr argued that "pepper spray is not a chemical irritant," but PepperBell, the company that makes the bells used on June 1, advertises its products as "the most effective chemical irritant available."

trump st. john's church bible

Foto: President Donald Trump holds a Bible while visiting St. John's Church across from the White House after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC. Source: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Law enforcement's use of pepper spray on peaceful protesters was widely condemned, particularly as officials attacked two priests and other clergy members with pepper spray to clear the president's walking path.

However, Trump's evangelical base was thrilled by the photo op, seeing the president's walk as an act of bravery.

Trump had not commented on the Secret Service's statement at the time of writing. You can read the Secret Service's full statement here.