Republicans criticized for trying to pretend they didn't know anything about DC protests

Republican officials dodged questions Tuesday about the teargas and rubber bullets shot at protesters so that President Donald Trump could cross H Street to stand for a photo-op outside of St. John's Church in Washington, DC.

When asked by MSNBC's Kasie Hunt about what happened, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) pretended he didn't know anything about it.

"I didn't really see it," he claimed.

Former reporter Meredith Shiner fact-checked the Wisconsin leader, noting that it would be impossible for anyone not to know what was going on in Washington on Monday.

While some Republicans were willing to respond and denounce the president's photo-op, others played coy.

The same answer came from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who claimed, “I didn’t follow, I’m sorry.”

He was blasted by Twitter users as a "coward."