Bill Barr Defends Attack on Peaceful Protesters: 'Pepper Spray Is Not a Chemical Irritant'

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: The Daily Beast

Attorney General William Barr on Sunday repeatedly defended on the violent show of force used by D.C. police last week to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Park moments before President Donald Trump’s photo-op at St. John’s Episcopal Church, ultimately playing semantics on the use of chemical munitions by law enforcement.

During a wide-ranging interview on Face the Nation, anchor Margaret Brennan pressed the attorney general on whether he felt in hindsight it was “appropriate for them to use smoke bombs, tear gas, pepper balls, projectiles at what appeared to be peaceful protesters?”

An unapologetic Barr, who was behind the order to aggressively clear the demonstrators, insisted that “they were not peaceful protesters” and that this is “one of the big lies that the media” is perpetuating.

Brennan, for her part, pointed out that three of her CBS colleagues were present and didn’t hear the so-called warnings from police or see any projectiles thrown, claims made by both Barr and the police.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-barr-defends-police-attack-on-peaceful-protesters-pepper-spray-is-not-a-chemical-irritant?via=twitter_page

[Newest Reality]

1. No,

It's a condiment like rock salt shotgun shells. Sprinkle liberally, add a dash of pepper spray. Voila!

[johndaly]

29. From Wiki;

(This is too easy. Barr must be retarded.)

"Pepper spray (also known as capsaicin spray or capsicum spray) is a lachrymatory agent (a chemical compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, crowd control, and self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears.[1][2] Its inflammatory effects cause the eyes to close, taking away vision. This temporary blindness allows officers to more easily restrain subjects and permits people in danger to use pepper spray in self-defense for an opportunity to escape. It also causes temporary discomfort and burning of the lungs which causes shortness of breath.

Pepper spray was engineered into a weapons grade chemical agent by Kamran Loghman when he worked for the FBI in the 1980s.
Loghman also wrote the guide for police departments on how it should be used. After police sprayed docile protestors at University of California in 2011, Loghman came to regret his work and said, "I have never seen such an inappropriate and improper use of chemical agents".[3][4]

Although considered a less-than-lethal agent, it has been deadly in rare cases; and being pepper sprayed may have been a contributing factor in a number of other deaths. "

[uppityperson]

32. Would you please remove "Barr must be r", the "retarded" word?

It is a slur against people who are DD. Thank you.

[marble falls]

39. Absolutely. I cannot believe I missed that!!!!

[marble falls]

41. Remove the "R" word!!!

[obamanut2012]

54. Why isn't this term banned from DU?

And, why would you use such a disgusting slur? Edit your post. Now.

[TreadSoftly]

2. With all those body cams Barr should have a picture

Bet that Barr doesn't have a picture. Because I bet the unpeaceful acts never happened.

Good for Brennan.

[I deleted an accidental duplicate of my post]

[Eliot Rosewater]

4. Life in prison or NOBODY ever goes to prison again GOD DAMMIT

[onetexan]

5. How about we try spraying it onto your despotic face, Lowbarr?

[Grokenstein]

34. Very much THIS. I want a demonstration from Barr.

Naturally, like Hannity's "waterboarding is not torture, I'll prove it to you" bit, he would never actually subject himself to it.

[onetexan]

46. agree, these guys are chickensh!t, all hat no cattle

[BlueMTexpat]

38. Exactly my reaction!

[alwaysinasnit]

42. Exactly. This way he can creditably speak from experience.

[Rebl2]

50. Exactly

what I thought.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

6. Dear Bill, please stand here while we shoot one of your non-chemical irritants at you.

Once you can see and breathe again you can write your letter of resignation.

[Iliyah]

7. Ya know the shithole's WH, administration and . .

cabinet, and republican party alongwith so called "Christian" evangelists LIE continuously.

[jls4561]

8. Just as we should inject Ivanka with any cockamamie idea tRump comes up with to prevent

the coronavirus (remember that?) like gargling bleach, a Lysol IV drip and being exposed to UV C light, Bill Barf should have a pepper spray canister fired at him on live TV to prove it's not "a chemical irritant".

You know what is an irritant? Toadies like you, Billy boy.

[ancianita]

9. Barr should show America, and put his face where the not chemical irritant is.

Only out of touch, arrogant autocratic bullies with law licenses lie to everyone with eyes.

[TxVietVet]

10. Give Barr an enema with pepper spray.

It's okay. It's not an irritant.

What a conservanazi douche bag.

[Zambero]

12. And while he's at it, Barr could also volunteer for a waterboarding demo

Just a mildly irritating procedure. Certainly NOT torture.

[keithbvadu2]

21. Like the waterboarding that coward Hannity is due.

Like the waterboarding that coward Hannity is due.

Still waiting, Sean.

[Danascot]

11. Pepper Spray Is Not a Chemical Irritant

Right, and execution is an 'alternative placement'.

[sarge43]

13. If it has no adverse affect, then why use it? n/t

[yellowcanine]

14. I guess he doesn't know the Park Police already walked back that claim.

Billy Boy is flailing. Good to see.

[ashredux]

15. He takes Gaslighting to a new level....

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

16. Take off your rose colored glasses, Billy Bar

and then have one of your secret service goons pepper spray you in the face on camera.

THEN you can tell us all that pepper spray is not "a chemical irritant.

[Sinistrous]

17. Barr is obviously mentally divorced from reality

and incapable of discharging the duties of his position. He must be removed from that position and, in the interest of public safety, he should be taken into long-term in-patient psychiatric evaluation.

[disndat]

28. That's why he's working on Trump's

re-election

[CanonRay]

18. As someone who has felt it personally

I can tell you he's full of shit

[leftieNanner]

44. I was on campus at Cal in the late 60s

Walking to class about a block away from Sproul Plaza where they sprayed tear gas against the anti war protesters. Even from that distance, I can tell you it was awful.

[OnlinePoker]

19. Kind of like waterboarding is not torture.

I'd like to see him get a shot of spray in the face and then say it's not an irritant.

[dalton99a]

20. And Bill Barr is a 140 lb handsome young man

[Progressive Jones]

22. Once Barr is out of office, maybe he'll be given a chance to find out. nt

[keithbvadu2]

23. "Pepper spray is not a chemical irritant. It's not chemical."

“Pepper spray is not a chemical irritant. It’s not chemical.”

So, he would not mind it done to his grandchildren.

[ProfessorGAC]

25. Here's How Dumb That Is.

Nearly everything we touch, breathe, eat, and see is a chemical.
So, that gas HAS TO BE a chemical.

[ProfessorGAC]

24. Oh Yes It Is Billy Boy!

Capsaicin is, you know, a chemical. It's commonly extracted from peppers, but can be easily synthesized in a chemical process. It's even cheaper to do that than to perform extraction & purification.
And, the irritation to mouth, nose, throat and eyes is a chemical attack on those tissues.
Is it as robust an attack as CN or CS? No, but it's still a chemical attack on human tissues.
I know your lane is very, very narrow little Billy, but stay in it.

[Nasruddin]

26. The Minister of Truth

War is peace
Freedom is slavery
Ignorance is strength

[Eugene]

27. The pepper ball manufacturer's web site call its projectiles "chemical irritants." #teargaslighting

https://www.pepperball.com/products/

https://www.pepperball.com/product_cat/projectiles/

PROJECTILES
THE BRAND SYNONYMOUS WITH "NON-LETHAL PROJECTILE"

With multiple payload options

and a proprietary chemical irritant that’s proven more effective from even greater distances, PepperBall® projectiles offer the protection and versatility for any situation. Available in both round and VXR versions, PepperBall projectiles can be operated at virtually any temperature from as far away as 150 feet and with an area saturation of up to 50 meters. Each projectile is carefully designed to help protect you in real-world situations so you can be confident that you have the tools needed to effectively do your job and make it home safely.

[onenote]

60. Someone should ask Barr If he thinks the manufacturer

Is guilty of false advertising.

[Drahthaardogs]

30. As a toxicologists who did grad work on secondary

Plant metabolites, I call bullshit.

They ARE DEFENSE compounds specifically produced to provide an adverse effect.

[robleb]

31. LOCK HIM UP

a criminal and a scoundrel without a soul

[truthisfreedom]

33. Expose him. Then ask him. Spray him with police pepper spray.

Then ask if it’s a chemical irritant. Hit him with a pepper ball or two. Then ask.

[elleng]

35. Oh right, it's just a PLAIN OLD irritant!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

36. I would like to irritate Barr with some pepper spray as a test case. . . . . nt

[Edwcraig]

37. Let's say they were spritzing them with Perrier water. THE POINT IS . .

these were citizens of the United States peacefully assembled in the people's property, attempting to re-dress grievances guaranteed under Constitution of the United States and you forced them to do anything. YOU WOULD BE WRONG AND YOU SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR THE VIOLATION OF THEIR CIVIL LIBERTIES TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW. FULL STOP.

[Evolve Dammit]

40. It's really a vegetable and part of a healthy diet. Everyone should begin their day by blasting a

healthy dose in your mucosa because, well, it's just the right thing to do. No pain, no gain.
Like Reagan's ketchup counts as a vegetable in school lunches. Seriously, Barr is one sick fuck that needs impeaching yesterday. And yes, William they were peaceful. Your use of Blackhawk helicopters, flash grenades, secret police and gas is illegal and impeachable.

[Ohioboy]

43. Pepper spray or tear gas?

Who cares? The point is peaceful protesters were forcefully removed to make way for Trump's photo op!

I'm so sick of these liars!

[OMGWTF]

45. My son is a career Port Security Specialist with the USCG

Part of his training required that he be pepper sprayed directly in his face with eyes wide open, while simultaneously tackling and cuffing the "perpetrator". He asked me to put the certificate that he passed this part of his training in my firesafe because he does not want to ever go through that again.

Wild Bill Barr needs to go.

[CaptainTruth]

47. So he's saying it's ok for folks to spray police with it, because it's not a chemical irritant?

[alp227]

48. Straight out of Fox News

Back in 2011, Megyn Kelly said pepper spray was "a food product, essentially."

[Collimator]

51. A food product?

So is a frozen rack of lamb. But you can kill someone if you hit them over the head with it.

(I bring this up because I remember an old, Old, TV show where a woman killed her husband with some frozen meat product, then cooked it and served it to the police officers who were investigating his death.)

[ProfessorGAC]

53. It's A Chemical Extracted From Food

Hence, a CHEMICAL.
Also, PAVA is a substituted analog of capsaicin. It's synthesized in 100 to 1000 liter reactors.
It does the same thing. So, it's not just a chemical but chemically synthesized.
So is capsaicin, but the reaction happens over weeks in the seeds of pepper plants.
Still a chemical reaction.
I'd show Megyn the chemical mechanism, but her empty head would implode in the first 5 seconds.

[relayerbob]

49. It was broadcast live from a dozen angles

As I said elsewhere, I guess he figures that they were throwing nachos

[Maine-i-acs]

52. Not a chemical? Or not irritant? What is it, a seasoning?

But this is the guy who thinks that US intel investigating who the Russian agents are trying to compromise is "spying". So maybe he just needs a thesaurus?

[rickford66]

55. Didn't Hannity agree to be waterboarded? I'm still waiting.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

56. Then he wouldn't mind getting sprayed in the face. Amirite?

[AntiFascist]

57. If Barr were pepper sprayed...

one wonders how he would then feel about it being a "chemical irritant".

[Tbear]

58. You are not falling for this right?

He's just changing the focus from the reprehensible actions he fomented to whether or not pepper spray is legal.

C'mon man.

[roamer65]

59. I'd like to test it on Barr.

Can I spray him?