READ MORE: Twitter rips Trump’s Bible photo-op in front of church after protest remarks

As previously reported by theGrio.com, in an effort to appear brave and fearless amid civil unrest, Trump had protesters forcibly removed so that he could make a dramatic walk from the White House to St. John’s Church.

President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he visits outside St. John’s Church across Lafayette Park from the White House Monday, June 1, 2020, in Washington.

Former Trump attorney John Dowd fired off the letter to former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, according to CNN, calling reports over Trump’s handling of the protesters as “fake news.”

“We now know through the U.S. Park Police that neither they nor any of their law enforcement partners, used tear gas to quell rising violence,” said Trump’s 2020 communications director Tim Murtaugh.

The U.S. Park Police said in a statement Tuesday that “no tear gas was used by USPP officers or other assisting law enforcement partners to close the area at Lafayette Park,” while also admitting it had deployed “pepper balls” and “smoke canisters,” ABC News reports.