Following his photo op at a church Tuesday night, DC residents protested Trump's visit to the John Paul II shrine: 'Don't use God as a prop'

• About 200 people gathered near Catholic University in Northeast Washington, DC, Tuesday morning to peacefully protest President Donald Trump visiting the shrine of Pope John Paul II.

• Trump's visit to the shrine, after a night of unrest and tear-gassing of peaceful protests in DC, came ahead of him signing an executive order on religious freedom.

• "I find it baffling and reprehensible" that a Catholic institution would allow itself to be "misused" and "manipulated" by Trump, wrote Catholic Archbishop of Washington Wilton Gregory in advance of the visit.

About 200 peaceful protesters chanted and held signs in opposition to President Donald Trump's visit to a shrine in Washington, DC, honoring Pope John Paul II on Tuesday morning, chanting "Black Lives Matter" and occasionally breaking out into song and prayer.

Trump's visit to the shrine comes on the heels of a dramatic night in Washington, where peaceful protesters were dispersed by tear gas and rubber bullets in front of the White House before Trump and some of his Cabinet took a photo in front of St. John's Episcopal Church. Trump held a bible as he posed for pictures.

Following a week of protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody, Trump called for increased military and National Guard presence. Referring to the protesters as "low lives" and "losers," Trump tweeted that other cities should have the military handle the demonstrations.

—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2020

As protests have sparked up around the country, so has police aggression. Trump has cheered on mass arrests of lawful protesters.

"I am here because Donald Trump and this administration need to know the Evangelical church is not the only church in this country, and there are a lot of us mainliners who are appalled at what he's doing," Bob Melone, a Presbyterian pastor based in Northern Virginia, told Insider. Melone held a sign at the protest saying, "The Bible is not a prop. The Church is not your pawn."

The protesters mainly gathered on the grassy lawns of Brookland, a Northeast Washington neighborhood home to many religious institutions including Catholic University, Trinity Washington University, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and Theological College. Many families with small children gathered on the grass, while others stood across from police officers and asked why they couldn't get closer to where Trump was appearing, about half a mile north.

"Stop protecting Trump," some protesters shouted after the dozens of police officers standing along the road. "You're standing here so a man can put a wreath on a shrine for a religion he's not even part of."

Police kept protesters from getting close to Trump by cordoning off a nearby street, Michigan Avenue, a main thoroughfare of Brookland. Protesters, nearly all wearing masks as the coronavirus pandemic still grips the Washington area, had the Basilica as their backdrop. As Trump's motorcade arrived and departed, protesters held up middle fingers and booed, chanting "Black Lives Matter."

At the shrine, the president and First Lady Melania Trump laid a ceremonial wreath at the statue of Saint John Paul II. Trump later signed an executive order to "Advance International Religious Freedom."

Police told protesters to stay where they were gathered and outlined the area with police tape, but were otherwise largely non-confrontational. They directed people to move at certain points, but there were no signs of tear gas or pepper spray.

Connor Garvey, who graduated from Catholic University in 2017, said he and his girlfriend tried to get closer to where Trump was speaking, but the area, just west of the Catholic University campus, was blocked off by the Secret Service.

"I'm disappointed in the JPII shrine for letting him come, I don't think it speaks for a lot of Catholic values," he said. "I think he's lucky school is not in session right now. Otherwise, a lot more people would be here."

Many protesters live or work nearby at religious institutions or services and said they disagreed with Trump's actions throughout his administration and especially in light of recent protests.

"I do not see anything in our leader that warrants him coming here for a photo op," said Meghan Meros, who works at the Franciscan Mission service, across the street from the National Basilica in Brookland. "If he comes, it should be to repent and pray. I feel so saddened that this is space he is coming into for reasons I don't agree with."

Ed Garnett, who was holding a sign saying "Never Again — Hatred and Intolerance — John Paul II," said Trump was using the pope's legacy "to cloak himself and address his own failure to lead by showing up at a religious place."

Trump's visit was short. After he was done, the motorcade sped back toward the White House as protesters booed and chanted. The crowd quickly and peacefully disbanded.

"It's a shame to see Trump blocking off people who actually live in this neighborhood for a photo op in front of a symbol of our movement and our religion," Helen Brosnan, a DC resident who is Catholic who said she was encouraging other Catholics leaders to speak out against Trump, said. "It's offensive."