Canberra is investigating the attack by American police officers on two Australian reporters who were covering a demonstration near the White House and is wondering about the possibility of issuing an official protest, the Australian government announced on Tuesday 2 June.
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"We have asked the Australian Embassy in Washington to investigate this incident," said Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne. "I await further advice on how we can convey Australia's deep concern to the relevant local authorities in Washington," she added.
This assault during a police charge that attempted to disperse the crowd on Lafayette Square, in Washington, was filmed. Video shows 7NEWS journalist Amelia Brace receiving a baton from a police officer after another riot police officer shielded and punched her cameraman Tim Myers. The two journalists said they were then hit by rubber bullets and hit by tear gas.
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This attack occurred while the police evacuated the numerous demonstrators present in this area to allow US President Donald Trump to leave the White House and go Monday evening to the Saint John Church, which has been degraded Sunday evening on the sidelines of a demonstration against racism. Images of the attack were looped on television channels from Australia, a country that is a very close ally of the United States. Payne avoided any direct criticism of the President. "It is obviously a very difficult period in the United States," she said on ABC radio.
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