Washington, June 4 (RHC)-- The Washington Post reports U.S. Attorney General William Barr personally ordered police to beat and tear-gas peaceful protesters gathered near the White House Monday in order to clear a path for President Donald Trump to walk to the nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church, where Trump posed for photos holding a Bible.  Among the hundreds of people tear-gassed was the former assistant rector of St. John’s. 

President Trump visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine on Tuesday, sparking a new round of criticism from religious leaders. Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory said Trump’s visit at this time was “baffling and reprehensible.”