Attorney General William Barr defended the presence of federal law enforcement and the National Guard in the nation’s capital after Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized him and the president for “adding grievances” to those who were protesting over George Floyd’s death.
Barr told the city’s mayor in a letter on June 9 that bringing in federal and National Guard personnel was necessary because the violent activity and unrest, which started on May 29 and culminated on May 31, had reached dangerous levels and “conveyed the impression that the United States was on the brink of losing control of its capital city.”
