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Trump sued over police dispersal of protesters before church photo op

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/06/04/20200602-minneapolis-police-protests-washington-trump_1.jpg"/><figcaption>US President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he holds a Bible during a photo opportunity in front of St. John&#x27;s Episcopal Church in the midst of ongoing protests over racial inequality in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, outside the White House in Washington, US, June 1, 2020. Tom Brenner, Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>WASHINGTON — US civil rights groups on Thursday filed a case suing President Donald Trump after security forces fired pepper balls and smoke bombs to clear peaceful demonstrators outside the White House.Law enforcement officers forced protesters back before Trump walked to a nearby church for a photo op on Monday that divided the United States amid nationwide protests over police brutality.The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups accused the president and top officials of violating the constitutional rights of Black Lives Matters campaigners and individual protestors.&quot;Police conducted a coordinated and unprovoked charge into the crowd of demonstrators and deployed several rounds of chemical irritants, rubber bullets, and sound cannons,&quot; the ACLU said.St John&#x27;s Episcopal church is across the street from Lafayette Park, which faces the White House and has been the focus of protests in Washington.The church was defaced with graffiti and damaged in a fire during demonstrations on Sunday night.Trump posed with a Bible outside the building after vowing to dispatch thousands of heavily armed soldiers to stop rioting.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/02/20/trump-says-to-send-thousands-of-troops-cops-to-quell-violence">Trump says to send &#x27;thousands&#x27; of troops, cops to quell violence</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/04/20/trumps-church-visit-response-to-unarmed-black-mans-death-frustrate-some-advisers">Trump&#x27;s church visit, response to unarmed black man&#x27;s death frustrate some advisers</a></li></ul>Protesters have taken to the streets across the US in recent days to voice anger over the killing of African American <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/03/20/george-floyd-a-gentle-giant-remembered-in-hometown-houston-march" target="_blank">George Floyd</a> by Minnesota police.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/03/20/pope-condemns-racism-and-violence-in-us-calls-for-national-reconciliation">Pope urges US reconciliation, condemns racism and street violence</a></li></ul>The president&#x27;s &quot;frankly criminal attack on protesters because he disagreed with their views shakes the foundation of our nation’s constitutional order,&quot; said Scott Michelman, ACLU legal director.Attorney General Bill Barr on Thursday defended security forces and said clearing the protesters was not linked to Trump walking to the church.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/04/20/trump-trying-to-divide-america-ex-pentagon-chief-rebukes-former-boss">Trump trying to &#x27;divide&#x27; America: ex-Pentagon chief rebukes former boss</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/04/20/snapchat-curbs-trump-posts-for-inciting-racial-violence">Snapchat curbs Trump posts for inciting &#x27;racial violence&#x27;</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/03/20/zuckerberg-defends-no-action-on-trump-posts-after-facebook-walkout">Zuckerberg defends no action on Trump posts after Facebook walkout</a></li></ul><div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

US civil rights groups on Thursday filed a case suing President Donald Trump after security forces fired pepper balls and smoke bombs to clear peaceful demonstrators outside the White House.

US civil rights groups on Thursday filed a case suing President Donald Trump after security forces fired pepper balls and smoke bombs to clear peaceful demonstrators outside the White House.