On a Sunday morning news show, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said federal officers used no chemical irritants to disperse a crowd of people near a Washington, D.C., church President Donald Trump was due to visit.
Appearing on CBS News鈥� 鈥淔ace the Nation,鈥� Barr said the U.S. Park Police and Secret Service used 鈥渟tandard crowd control鈥� methods during the June 1 action. Host Margaret Brennan reminded him that the Park Police had said chemical irritants were used.
鈥淣o, there were not chemical irritants,鈥� . 鈥淧epper spray is not a chemical irritant. It鈥檚 not chemical.鈥�
Brennan interjected: 鈥淧epper spray, you鈥檙e saying, is what was used.鈥�
鈥淧epper balls. Pepper balls,鈥� Barr clarified.
Barr鈥檚 statement about chemical irritants is wrong. The Park Police saying its units fired pepper balls, a product that contains a chemical irritant. Pepper balls are a generic term for small plastic balls that burst upon impact. They fall into the category of less-lethal impact munitions. Think of the popular mock battle game called paintball using balls filled with something other than paint.
The Park Police told PolitiFact that its officers deployed products from the PepperBall company.
The weakest variety of pepper ball contains a 0.5% concentration of the chemical irritant pelargonic acid vanillylamide, or PAVA, a . (The company offers a version that is 10 times more potent, but it is unclear if Park Police used that one.)
鈥淧AVA primarily affects the eyes causing closure and severe pain,鈥� according to a report by , an independent scientific body that advises the government.
The National Institutes of Health webpage on the active ingredient in PAVA, powder carries these four warning pictograms:
After the incident near the church, there was regarding which devices federal officers used to send the crowd running. While there was debate over the description of the chemicals used, the Park Police confirmed that chemical agents had been deployed.
PAVA is the synthetic version of the natural chemical found in chili peppers. For those interested in chemistry, it is formed by 鈥渢he formal condensation of the amino group of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylamine with the carboxy group of nonanoic acid,鈥� according to the .
A on less-lethal weapons said pepper balls contain 鈥渉ighly irritating pepper powder.鈥�
The PepperBall company鈥檚 website says its product is good for 鈥渁rea saturation,鈥� meaning anyone close to the point of impact is affected by the chemical.
As the area outside the church was cleared, multiple and reported noxious fumes that caused a burning sensation in protesters鈥� eyes and throats. As federal officers fired on the crowd near the church, protesters cried out that tear gas was being used.
We reached out to the Justice Department and did not hear back.
Our Ruling
Barr said federal officers used no chemical irritants to clear people away from a District of Columbia church Trump planned to visit. He said pepper balls are not chemical irritants.
The Park Police used impact munitions made by the PepperBall company. Those munitions contain PAVA, a synthetic chemical that causes extreme eye pain.
The Justice Department says pepper balls contain 鈥渉ighly irritating pepper powder.鈥�
We rate Barr鈥檚 claim Pants on Fire.