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Report: Feds considered using 'heat ray' on DC protesters

Report: Feds considered using 'heat ray' on DC protesters
Posted at 9:11 AM, Sep 17, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-17 09:11:01-04

WASHINGTON (AP) — A military whistleblower says federal officials sought some unusual crowd control devices — including one that’s been called a “heat ray” — to deal with protesters outside the White House on the June day that law enforcement forcibly cleared Lafayette Square.

National Guard Maj. Adam DeMarco says the Defense Department’s lead military police officer for the National Capital Region sent an email asking if the D.C. National Guard possessed a long-range acoustic device — used to transmit loud noises — or an “Active Denial System," the so-called heat ray.

DeMarco said he responded that the Guard was not in possession of either device.

National Public Radio and The Washington Post first reported DeMarco’s testimony.