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'Protesters have a right to protest': White House confronted over police violence in Washington DC

AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images

The White House has defended militant actions of police against George Floyd protests near the White House on Monday saying the officers have a “right to defend themselves”.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany was confronted about the police’s use of force against peaceful protesters on Monday near Lafayette Square in Washington by a reporter at a White House press conference.

“I just want to make sure that people who have a problem with what they saw Monday have a chance to have that addressed,” a reporter asked.

“I mean, what do you say to Americans who are just outraged by what they saw?”

The press secretary defended the actions of officers, claiming that the protest had become “unruly” and that officers had “no other choice” than to “act and make sure that they were safe”.

“To protect the lives of officers, they have a right to defend and to protect themselves”, she insisted.

Two Australian reporters were seen live on air being subjected to aggressive force employed by police to clear protesters near the White House on Monday.

Footage of the incident went viral, showing police lunging at the camera and using violence against the news team.

“We’ve just had to run about a block as police moved in, we’ve been fired at with rubber bullets, my cameraman has been hit,” reporter Amelia Brace said to camera after the incident.

“We’ve also seen tear gas being used. You heard us telling that we were media, but they don’t care. They are being indiscriminate at the moment.”

Two police officers have been placed on administrative leave following the incident with the journalists, according to The United States Park Police.

The press secretary asserted at the conference that no tear gas or rubber bullets had been used during the clearing on Monday.

Ms McEnany claimed that protesters were asked a number of times by officials to move and that “projectiles being thrown at officers.”

At the press conference on Wednesday, the reporter challenged that “the vast majority of those protesters were doing so peacefully” and were unwittingly “pummelled” out of the way by police officers.

The press secretary continued to insist that officers had a right to use force to defend themselves saying that “they did so peaceably” and that “there were no fatalities” or “severe injuries” during the incident.

“They were quite violent and they do not care who they’re targeting at the moment," Ms Brace concluded on air at the scene of the protest.

The violent action against protesters in Washington was reported on Monday night amidst a press briefing held by president Donald Trump concerning the ongoing national unrest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died on 25 May after a white police officer knelt on his neck.

Mr Trump was accused of using tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs on protesters roughly 100 yards away so the president could walk to St John's Episcopal Church following the conference for a photo op.

Since Friday, thousands of people have flocked to the White House and nearby Lafayette Square to protest Floyd's death and systemic racism in American law enforcement.

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