USA TODAY WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog rejected a proposal to investigate the Secret Service's use of force against racial justice protesters in Lafayette Square in Washington last summer, according to internal records reviewed by USA TODAY. Such a probe would have looked into the Secret Service's role in forcing protesters out of Lafayette Square near St. John's Episcopal Church, just before former President Donald Trump stood in front of the historic church for a photo op. The forceful removal of demonstrators on June 1 and the photo op that followed have become a defining moment in Trump's response to the monthslong racial justice protests over the death of George Floyd.