Pastor, National Faith Leader Denounces Trump’s Shameful Tear Gassing Before His Remarks at St. John’s Church
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2020
MEDIA CONTACT
Michelle Nealy, mnealy@faithinpubliclife.org, (202) 735-7123
Austin Schuler, aschuler@faithinpubliclife.org, (540) 280-3393
Pastor, National Faith Leader Denounces Trump’s Shameful Tear Gassing Before His Remarks at St. John’s Church
Washington, D.C. — People who gathered peacefully outside the White House to protest police brutality and demand justice for black lives were cleared out with tear gas to make way for the president to visit a nearby church.
Rev. Jennifer Butler, CEO, Faith in Public Life:
“Black lives matter to God. Protesters’ lives matter to God. God lifts up the dignity of oppressed people, and the Constitution guarantees our right to assemble and exercise free speech. President Trump has declared war on our people and our principles.
Yesterday, he gassed lawfully assembled protesters in a public park, then strutted through their path to a church that did not consent to his presence, where he brandished a Bible for a political photo op. In so doing, he attacked human life, desecrated the Bible, and brazenly spat upon the Constitution. This builds upon a week of his inciting police murder of protesters, threatening to unleash the military on American soil, and viciously dividing a nation that cries out for justice.
There is no middle ground between white supremacist tyranny and human dignity. God condemns oppression, and so must we. I call on all faith leaders — especially those who have supported Trump in the past — to denounce his attacks on human life, the Bible and the Constitution. I call on Congress to immediately remove him from office. I pray that justice be done and that oppression ends. The future of our democracy is at stake today.”
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