DOJ Argues Protesters' Lafayette Square Lawsuit Should Be Dropped as Trump's Out of Office
On 5/28/21 at 5:09 PM EDT
Department of Justice lawyers want to dismiss lawsuits filed against former President Donald Trump after he had Lafayette Square cleared of Black Lives Matter protesters for a photo op last June because he is no longer president.
Christopher Hair, a Justice Department attorney, said that because President Joe Biden is now in office and unlikely to carry out similar actions, the lawsuits are unneeded.
"These lawsuits seek to prevent a recurrence of the June 1 events in Lafayette Square," Hair said.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which claimed that Trump and then-Attorney General William Barr "unlawfully conspired to violate" the civil rights of protesters when they were forcibly removed.