President Donald Trump has deployed numerous law enforcement units to the streets of Washington, D.C. in response to protests against the murder of George Floyd by police.
As was seen earlier this week, these forces have not been afraid to unleash tear gas and other displays of aggression even onto peaceful protesters.
Among these units are Federal Bureau of Prisons officers, which was confirmed by the BOP themselves.
Just In: NBC's Mike Kosnar obtains a statement from the Bureau of Prisons about their un-badged officers in DC. It's long so I screen-shotted it, and their previous statement, sent upon their deployment pic.twitter.com/BbTdJNDpBg
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) June 4, 2020
As has been reported, these officers have refused to identify themselves to protestors.
5PM WHITE HOUSE — These are the unidentified DOJ officers holding the perimeter at 15th and H Streets.
They won't tell the public to whom they report exactly...
It's generating HUGE frustration here #GeorgeFloyd @WUSA9 pic.twitter.com/GOSbeyplLb
— Mike Valerio (@MikevWUSA) June 3, 2020
Michael Carajval, the director of the Bureau of Prisons, said of these reports:
"I'm not aware of any specific Bureau of Prisons personnel being told not to identify themselves. What I attribute that to is probably the fact that we normally operate within the confines of our institution and we don't need to identify ourselves. Most of our identification is institution specific and probably wouldn't mean a whole lot to people in DC."
As Carajval points out, prison guards normally operate within the confines of an institution, and aren't trained for handling crowds outside of institutions.
People found it funny that, because many of these guards were deployed to the White House, Trump was technically being protected by prison guards.
Ironic that @realDonaldTrump is being guarded now, checks notes, by federal prison guards. https://t.co/baYtxrYLk0
— John Weaver (@jwgop) June 4, 2020
Throughout his career, the President has faced countless accusations and legal woes, from unpaid wages to assault to campaign finance violations to treason.
And that's all without ever seeing his tax returns, which some of his allies-turned-enemies—like former personal attorney Michael Cohen—say reveal even more crimes.
Though men of his race and wealth often easily avoid prison even in the face of conviction, there are many who say Trump belongs in prison—and may even head there after his stint in the White House.
As Trump likes to say, let's see what happens.
