Trump Campaign Says ‘Tear Gas’ Wasn’t Used To Clear Protesters. CDC Guidelines Say Otherwise.

A Trump campaign spokesman asked media outlets, including Forbes, to retract stories stating that tear gas was used to clear a group of protesters so President Donald Trump could participate in a photo-op in front of a church Monday.

The spokesman pointed to a statement from the U.S. Parks Police, which said officers did not use tear gas and instead deployed “smoke canisters and pepper balls” on a group of “combative” protesters after they “continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers’ weapons.”

According to a fact sheet from the CDC, “tear gas” can be used as an umbrella term for various non-lethal riot control agents, including pepper spray.

According to multiple reports, the protests were largely peaceful until police officers used flash grenades and irritants to clear the group.

The conservative website The Federalist published a story Tuesday declaring the media “falsely claimed” tear gas was used against protesters—which Trump then retweeted—but no major media outlet has issued a retraction.

 Neither the Trump campaign nor the Parks Police immediately responded to a request for comment from Forbes.