The presence of armed forces without name badges or insignia in Washington, D.C., is troubling, and the use of force to clear protesters from Lafayette Park to allow President Donald Trump to visit St. John's Episcopal Church last week was, at minimum, an "abuse of authority," said former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.
"The only time I've ever seen a law enforcement officer or military officer remove their name badges is in a detention facility," Johnson, who served under President Barack Obama, said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "In fact, there are certain circumstances on the battlefield where if a member of the military removes their credentials, who they represented, it could be considered a violation of the laws of armed conflict."
Meanwhile, clearing away the crowds at Layfayette Park was done to use force for a political purpose, said Johnson.
If Trump had been on his way back to the White House and protesters blocked his way, the Secret Service would have the ability to move them out of the way to protect him, but last week's incident was a "very different circumstance," said Johnson.
In this case, it would have been the job of the secretary of Homeland Security or someone else to inform Trump that the peaceful civilian demonstrators had to be pushed back, he added.
"I've got to say, every president in my lifetime between [Ronald] Reagan and Obama would have said, 'You know what, it's not worth it ... I'll stay here for the time being,' and that's the tragedy of last week, in my view," said the former secretary.
Johnson also on Monday said acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf on Sunday was reacting out of "pure politics" so he wouldn't enrage Trump when he told ABC News’ “This Week,” that there is no systemic racism in law enforcement.
"He's living day-to-day as an acting [secretary]," said Johnson. "When people have put that question to me, I always want to know what's your definition of systemic racism?"
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.