It has been reported that the military police have also considered using special electromagnetic weapons to disperse the crowd.
During the protests outside the White House in June, U.S. federal authorities took live ammunition to the capital and also considered using special electromagnetic weapons to disperse the crowd. The Washington Post claimed this on Wednesday, citing a member of the US National Guard who was involved in the events.
According to information provided by National Guard Major Adam Demarco, 7,000 rounds of 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm calibre ammunition were delivered to the arsenal building in Washington by mid-June. In addition, additional M4 rifles were delivered to the capital from the Fort Belvoir military base in Virginia, when police cleaned Lafayette Square in front of the White House on 1 June. This information is contained in Demarko’s written statement to the American legislators who were in the possession of the newspaper.
According to him, the military police also attempted to access a special device called the Active Denial System on 1 June. Designed by the American military to disperse the crowd, the device emits electromagnetic vibrations in a range that can have a short-term shock effect on humans. As The Washington Post notes, the result is a burning sensation on the skin. According to Demarco, the unit was never delivered to Washington.
The clean-up of Lafayette Square on 1 June coincided with a speech by President Donald Trump, who addressed fellow citizens in the White House’s Rose Garden in response to the unrest in the country. After a while, the American leader left his residence, headed towards the empty square and reached the Bishopric of St John, which had been set on fire by the protesters the previous evening. Trump raised the Bible and said that “the USA is the greatest country in the world” and then promised to ensure the security of the state. A number of media outlets believed that the protesters had been dispersed because the US President was about to head for Lafayette Square. In particular, The New York Times published a story entitled “Protesters were dispersed with tear gas so Trump could pose for the church”.