Oversight Hearing Committee on Natural Resources U.S. House of Representatives
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THE U.S. PARK POLICE ATTACK ON PEACE- FUL PROTESTERS AT LAFAYETTE SQUARE—PART 1 *** UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE U.S. PARK POLICE’S JUNE 1 ATTACK ON PEACEFUL PROTESTERS AT LAFAYETTE SQUARE—PART 2 OVERSIGHT HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION Monday, June 29, 2020 (Part 1) Tuesday, July 28, 2020 (Part 2) Serial No. 116–36 Printed for the use of the Committee on Natural Resources ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov or Committee address: http://naturalresources.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 40–718 PDF WASHINGTON : 2020 COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES RAU´ L M. GRIJALVA, AZ, Chair DEBRA A. HAALAND, NM, Vice Chair GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN, CNMI, Vice Chair, Insular Affairs ROB BISHOP, UT, Ranking Republican Member Grace F. Napolitano, CA Don Young, AK Jim Costa, CA Louie Gohmert, TX Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, CNMI Doug Lamborn, CO Jared Huffman, CA Robert J. Wittman, VA Alan S. Lowenthal, CA Tom McClintock, CA Ruben Gallego, AZ Paul A. Gosar, AZ TJ Cox, CA Paul Cook, CA Joe Neguse, CO Bruce Westerman, AR Mike Levin, CA Garret Graves, LA Debra A. Haaland, NM Jody B. Hice, GA Joe Cunningham, SC Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, AS Nydia M. Vela´zquez, NY Daniel Webster, FL Diana DeGette, CO Liz Cheney, WY Wm. Lacy Clay, MO Mike Johnson, LA Debbie Dingell, MI Jenniffer Gonza´lez-Colo´n, PR Anthony G. Brown, MD John R. Curtis, UT A. Donald McEachin, VA Kevin Hern, OK Darren Soto, FL Russ Fulcher, ID Ed Case, HI Steven Horsford, NV Michael F. Q. San Nicolas, GU Matt Cartwright, PA Paul Tonko, NY Jesu´ s G. ‘‘Chuy’’ Garcı´a, IL Vacancy David Watkins, Chief of Staff Sarah Lim, Chief Counsel Parish Braden, Republican Staff Director http://naturalresources.house.gov (II) CONTENTS Page Hearing held on Monday, June 29, 2020, Part 1 .................................................. 1 Statement of Members: Bishop, Hon. Rob, a Representative in Congress from the State of Utah ... 4 Grijalva, Hon. Rau´ l M., a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona ...................................................................................................... 2 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 3 Haaland, Hon. Debra A., a Representative in Congress from the State of New Mexico, Statement for the record .................................................... 70 Statement of Witnesses: Brace, Amelia, U.S. Correspondent, Seven News Australia ......................... 9 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 10 Questions submitted for the record ......................................................... 16 Budde, Mariann, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington ......................... 29 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 31 McDonald, Kishon, Civil Rights Demonstrator .............................................. 5 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 7 Questions submitted for the record ......................................................... 8 Turley, Jonathan, Law Professor, George Washington University Law School ............................................................................................................. 16 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 18 Questions submitted for the record ......................................................... 28 Additional Materials Submitted for the Record: Department of the Interior, Letter from Sec. Bernhardt to Chair Grijalva dated June 5, 2020 ........................................................................................ 71 Fraternal Order of Police, U.S. Park Police Labor Committee, Letter to the Editor dated June 19, 2020 ............................................................... 46 Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Letter from Cole Rojewski, Director to Chair Grijalva re: declining to send Mr. Gregory T. Monahan, Assistant Chief of the U.S. Park Police dated June 24, 2020 ................................................................................................................ 48 List of documents submitted for the record retained in the Committee’s official files .................................................................................................... 72 (III) CONTENTS Page Hearing held on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, Part 2 .................................................. 73 Statement of Members: Grijalva, Hon. Rau´ l M., a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona ...................................................................................................... 74 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 75 Hice, Hon. Jody B., a Representative in Congress from the State of Georgia ........................................................................................................... 76 Statement of Witnesses: DeMarco, Adam D., Major, District of Columbia National Guard ............... 116 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 118 Questions submitted for the record ......................................................... 121 Monahan, Gregory T., Acting Chief, United States Park Police, U.S. Department of the Interior ........................................................................... 77 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 79 Additional Materials Submitted for the Record: List of documents submitted for the record retained in the Committee’s official files .................................................................................................... 143 (V) OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE U.S. PARK POLICE ATTACK ON PEACEFUL PRO- TESTERS AT LAFAYETTE SQUARE—PART 1 Monday, June 29, 2020 U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources Washington, DC The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 12:02 p.m., in 1324 Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Rau´ l M. Grijalva [Chairman of the Committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Grijalva, Napolitano, Costa, Sablan, Huffman, Lowenthal, Gallego, Cox, Neguse, Levin, Haaland, Cunningham, DeGette, Clay, Dingell, Brown, Soto, Horsford, Tonko, Garcı´a; Bishop, Gohmert, Lamborn, McClintock, Westerman, Gonza´lez-Colo´n, and Fulcher. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. The Committee on Natural Resources will come to order. The Committee is meeting today to hear testimony on the ‘‘U.S. Park Police Attack on Peaceful Protesters at Lafayette Square.’’ Under Committee Rule 4(f), any oral opening statements at hear- ings are limited to the Chair and the Ranking Minority Member, or their designees. This will allow us to hear from the witnesses sooner, and help Members keep to their schedules. Therefore, I am asking unanimous consent that all other Members’ opening statements be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted to the Clerk by 5 p.m. today, or at the close of the hearing, whichever comes first. Hearing no objection, so ordered. Without objection, the Chair may also declare a recess, subject to the call of the Chair. As described in the notice, statements, documents, or motions must be submitted to the electronic repository at [email protected]. Additionally, please note that, as with our fully in-person meet- ing, Members are responsible for their own microphones. As with our fully in-person meetings, Members can be muted by staff only to avoid inadvertent background noise. Anyone present at the hear- ing today must wear a mask covering their mouth and nose. The Speaker of the House and the Sergeant at Arms, acting upon the recommendations of the Attending Physician, require face cov- erings for all indoor gatherings over 15 minutes in length, such as Committee meetings. Accordingly, to maintain decorum and protect the safety of Members and staff, the Chair will not recognize any Member in this hearing room to speak who is not wearing a mask. According to House Rule 17 and Committee Rule 3(d), the Chair retains the (1) 2 right of recognition of any Member who wishes to speak or offer a motion. The right includes the responsibility to maintain decorum. As permitted by the Sergeant at Arms guidance, the Chair will make exceptions for Members briefly removing their masks to fa- cilitate lip reading by viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, as I am doing presently. Finally, Members or witnesses who experience technical problems should inform Committee staff immediately. With that, I will recognize myself for the opening statement. STATEMENT OF THE HON. RAU´ L M. GRIJALVA, A REPRESENT- ATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA The CHAIRMAN. A Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, we all have witnessed the slow and pain- ful death of Mr. Floyd, and it has created a demanding, anguished cry for action to deal with the legacy of racism in this country. And that cry, that anguished cry, has risen all across the Nation. Thousands of Americans have taken to the street to offer a strong declaration—that is really a plea for basic humanity—that Black Lives Matter. They protest to honor the all-too-many Black men,