One of the low but illustrative points during the last week was the massive show of force by the various branches of the US security forces, including the military, in Washington DC to clear demonstrators out of Lafayette Square just across from the White House. And for what? Just to enable Trump to walk a couple of blocks and stand in front of a church and wave a Bible. What it really showed was the level of militarization of US law enforcement as it acted like an army in occupied territory.

The Washington Post has collected videos from many different people on the scene and pieced together a detailed video timeline and analysis of how the security forces cleared out the peaceful protestors using tear gas, pepper balls, and other incendiary devices to enable Trump to do his pathetic photo op. It really was a coordinated, military-style operation, a show of force to cow civilian protestors. (If you cannot see the embedded video below, try here.)