Thread by @ProfMJCleveland

Another point re @NathanBacaTV article: wusa9.com/article/news/i… The distinction b/w clearing Lafayette Park and other areas is blurred. And from his article D.C. officials still haven't said whether tear gas used outside of Lafayette Park. Why not?

The more I think about this, the more this seems an important question: D.C. Police continue to say they did not participate in clearing of Lafayette Park, but from article D.C. officials have yet to say whether they used tear gas to clear areas outside Park. Instead, D.C. cops

2/ are trying to get the case dismissed WITHOUT that fact being disclosed, but arguing no violation of constitutional rights EVEN IF THEY used tear gas. Why is that? Why won't D.C. officials say whether tear gas used outside Lafayette Park by D.C. Police???

3/ I'm digging in more because I had wrongly believed D.C. officials denied using tear gas on protestors on June 1, but per @NathanBacaTV article, district officials refused to answer. So, re-reading District motion to dismiss see D.C. officials had no problem saying this:

4/ Point blank said they did not clear protestors from Lafayette Park. (Need to see what complaint said--maybe it wasn't alleged that they had?). But when it comes to tear gas, attorney's argue (as they must) that even if they did use tear gas, it was not unconstitutional:

5/ To reiterate: This references tear gas outside of Lafayette Park. And if D.C. officials succeed on motion to dismiss, no fact finding and no answer re whether D.C. officials used tear gas. Now I'm intrigued.

6/ Why are district officials refusing to say whether D.C. police used tear gas on June 1? (Again, I had wrongly believed D.C. officials had previously denied using tear gas on June 1--assuming @NathanBacaTV reporting is accurate on that point, they didn't. Digging more.

7/ So, the Third Amended Complaint alleged D.C. officials acted outside of Lafayette Park, and thus the Motion to Dismiss would, of course, say that. But, still, why have D.C. officials refused to answer the basic question of whether they used tear gas outside Lafayette Park 6/1