Attorney General William Barr surprised a group of pro-police demonstrators Thursday, pulling over to thank the group in person.
“That time you’re driving in Virginia and the Attorney General spots a group of people in front of a police precinct showing their support for the police,” Department of Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupec tweeted with video of the impromptu stop.
Kupec said Barr asked the FBI detail accompanying him: “Can we make a quick U-Turn? I want to jump out and thank those people.”
Demonstrators were holding signs with supportive messages for law enforcement like “Back the Blue” and “They give their lives for you.” One person can be heard telling Barr “we love you” and to “keep up the good work.”
One woman told the attorney general that she thought his testimony last month before House lawmakers was “spectacular.” Barr testified before the House Judiciary Committee on issues ranging from his handling of the prosecutions of President Trump’s allies and the forcible clearing of protesters at Lafayette Square in June to allow the president to hold a photo opportunity in front of the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Barr, who was not wearing a mask in video of Thursday’s stop-off, can be seen bumping elbows with rallygoers and giving a fist-bump to one of the demonstrators. Some of the people in the group were wearing face coverings.
The video ends when a man who isn’t wearing a mask gets next to Barr and asks if they can take a photo with him.
The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Barr in an interview with ABC News last month called for greater investments in police forces.
“I think we have to think about more investment in the police. Now part of it, as you say, is that the police are being called on to do more and more. Deal with mental illness, deal with homelessness … deal with drug addiction where they don’t have the training and the … expertise sometimes to deal with it,” he said.
Nationwide protests following the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis have called for widespread police reforms.