The Insurrection Act was last used in 1992 during the Rodney King riots (pictured)
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said it was one of the authorities being looked at.
Trump, after walking past graffiti-strewn maintenance building and standing in front of St. John's, didn't respond to shouted questions about whether the nation was facing an insurgency, or whether he cleared out Lafayette Park for a photo-op.
He warned residents of Washington D.C. he would take the tough action after they had surrounded the White House every evening since Friday night.
On Friday night, the first night the protests grew in size, Secret Service agents rushed Trump into the White House bunker and held him there for several minutes as a safety precaution.
'What happened in the city last night was a total disgrace. As we speak, I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults, and the wanton destruction of property. We are putting everybody on warning on a 7:00 curfew that will be strictly enforced,' Trump said in his Rose Garden remarks.
Trump attempted to regain control of the situation with his strongly-worded remarks, vow to use force to end the protests and his walk to the church for a photo-op.
Scenes from protesters around the country have filled American TV screens in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes. Floyd's death was ruled a homicide and the officer, Derek Chauvin, was charged with his murder.
Both Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker and New York's Andrew Cuomo immediately rejected Trump's demand, both telling CNN they would not agree to the deployment of active-duty troops in their states, which include New York City and Chicago.
Cuomo also slammed Trump for having protesters - who he said were 'young, and mostly white' - out of his path to 'pose with a Bible' and Prtizker accused him of making the country more dangerous. 'He has got to go,' the Illinois governor said.
Cuomo said: 'I was shocked at what they did. I was shocked to see the force used to move protesters who could not have been more peaceful. Calling out the American military for a photo opportunity. It was shameful. Shameful.'
Trump gave governors an early warning of what he had planned, telling them earlier in the day, during a video conference from the Situation Room, that they are 'weak' and need to 'dominate' cities ravaged by riots or they will look like 'jerks.'
'You have to dominate, if you don't dominate you're wasting your time. They're going to run over you, you're going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate,' audio of the call revealed.
'You've got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you'll never see this stuff again,' Trump said during the 55-minute call.
'We're doing it in Washington, D.C. We're going to do something that people haven't seen before.'
'You're making a mistake because you're making yourselves look like fools,' he continued later in the call, claiming that they need to activate more National Guard support as a show of force on city streets.
'And some have done a great job. But a lot of you, it's not – it's not a great day for our country.'
The president also threatened to deploy the 101st Airborne Division of the Army to provide 'backup' to cities ravaged by the riots.
The president made this message by endorsing a statement made by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton: '100% Correct. Thank you Tom!'
'If local law enforcement is overwhelmed and needs backup, let's see how tough these Antifa terrorists are when they're facing off with the 101st Airborne Division,' he continued in the tweet. 'We need to have zero tolerance for this destruction.'
Trump has pushed for governors to activate the National Guard in there states and has not yet formally addressed the nation since the unrest began.
He did say during his call with governors Monday that he is putting Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley 'in charge.'
The president did not clarify what he meant during his rant to the state leaders, specifically if he was planning to deploy the military to quell protests – and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany did not clear up the comments during a press briefing Monday afternoon.
'I'm not going to get ahead of any actions,' McEnany told reporters in the James S. Brady Briefing Room.
'Our streets are dominated with a police force and a national guard presence,' she continued, claiming that police lines are overwhelmed by the rioters.
'When those lines are overwhelmed, law enforcement gets on the defense,' she said. 'So what the president has said, is that he wants to dominate the streets with National Guard, with a police presence.'
McEnany noted that Milley said during the call, which he was a part of, that a National Guard presence helps to de-escalate situations like the ones popping up all over the country.
She did not clarify if putting Milley in charge means that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be completely overseeing a domestic issue.
President
Donald Trump was slammed for having National Guardsmen and police hit George Floyd protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets to clear out the area around St. John's church so he could visit for a photo opportunity.
The Episcopal Bishop of Washington DC, Bishop Mariann Budde, condemned the president for using force to push out protesters without asking official permission 'to use the church as a prop'.
The president spoke in a televised speech from the Rose Garden on Monday evening and tear gas canisters could be heard exploding in the background before he walked over to the church, that had been set on fire in protests Sunday night.
Budde was 'outraged' by the president's aggression and said neither she nor the rector were told 'that they would be clearing with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop,' she said to the
Washington Post.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also bashed the president as 'shameful' for sending military force against protesters.
'I don’t want President Trump speaking for St. John’s,' Budde said Monday evening after the president's visit.
'I am outraged. I am the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and was not given even a courtesy call that they would be clearing with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop, holding a Bible, one that declares that God is love and when everything he has said and done is to enflame violence,' she added.
She said the Diocese of Washington DC would disassociate itself from Trump.
'We so disassociate ourselves from the messages of this president. We hold the teachings of our sacred texts to be so so grounding to our lives and everything we do and it is about love of neighbor and sacrificial love and justice,' Budde added.
She appeared on CNN Monday evening bashing Trump's photo op as an 'abuse of a sacred symbol to justify an approach to this crisis that is antithetical to everything that we stand for.'
The protesters in the area Monday evening appeared to be acting peacefully before they were forced out through the aggressive measures including rubber bullets, pepper spray, and tear gas.
Meanwhile from the Rose Garden Trump said he’s an ally of peaceful demonstrators but warned, 'I am your president of law and order.'
The president posed for photographers, holding a Bible as he stood in front of the boarded-up 200-year-old church, that has been visited by every president since James Madison.
'We have a great country. It won’t take long. It’s not going to take long to see what is going on. It’s coming back, and it’s coming back strong. It will be greater than ever before,' Trump said as the clamor of protesters, helicopters and explosions are heard in the background.
New York Andrew Cuomo slammed the president as 'shameful' for using military force to disperse peaceful protesters for his own agenda.
'The president is calling out the American military against American citizens. He used the military to push out a peaceful protest so he could have a photo op at a church. It's all just a reality TV show for this president. Shameful,' Cuomo tweeted Monday evening.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a frequent target of the president in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, responded to the meeting in a statement following where she claimed Trump said the governors would be 'overridden.'
'I joined a call with my fellow governors and the current president that was deeply disturbing,' she said. 'Instead of offering support or leadership to bring down the temperature at protests, President Trump told governors to 'put it down' or we would be 'overridden.'
A person listening in on the call told CBS News that the president's message and tone was 'unhinged.' Illinois' governor J.B. Pritzker hit back at him during the call, telling Trump his own rhetoric was fueling the violence.
In the call, Trump specifically called out Minnesota, where the riots originated after Goerge Floyd, a black man, was killed by a white police officer there last week.
'What happened in the state of Minnesota, they were a laughing stock all over the world,' Trump said in the call.
'They took over the police department, the police were running down the street, sirens blazing, the rest of them running. It was on camera,' he said, referencing rioters who torched the Minneapolis police station on Friday.
'They'll probably have to build a new one,' Trump said. 'But I've never seen anything like it and the whole world was laughing.'
He then praised his own work by talking with Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on activating the National Guard in the state to help the Twin Cities mitigate violent demonstrators, claiming Walz acted on his suggestion.
'Once you cool down and you dominated, you took the worst place and you made it – they didn't even come there last night because there was so much less, because you dominated,' he lauded.
But right after the president's call with governors, Walz held a press conference where he said he would be working to demobilize the National Guard, which he had just activated a few days before upon the encouragement of the president.
He said the state is working on a 'transition of our National Guard troops back to their homes and their jobs.'
'They take time out of their jobs, and many of them will be going back – some of them working as news reporters, some of them working as camera operators, some of them working as teachers. That will begin to happen,' Walz said.
On the call, Illinois governor J.B. Priztker bluntly told Trump his rhetoric was not helping.
'It's been inflammatory, and it's not OK for that officer to choke George Floyd to death but we have to call for calm. We have to have police reform called for. We've called out our National Guard and our State Police, but the rhetoric that's coming out of the White House is making it worse,' Pritzker said,
the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Trump hit back saying: 'OK, well thank you very much, J.B. I don't like your rhetoric very much either because I watched your response to coronavirus, and I don't like your rhetoric either. I think you could have done a much better job, frankly.'
Trump also unloaded on New York, claiming that 'New York's finest' were not being 'allowed to do their jobs.'
'New York is going to have to toughen up,' he said.
'You have the largest police force in the country, 40,000 people I understand but what's going on in New York is terrible, terrible, of all the places.'
Attorney General Bill Barr, who was also on the call, told governors that a joint terrorist task force would be used to track the agitators.
He also told local officials, lawmakers and enforcement to control what is going on in cities rather than react to crowds – and he urged them to 'go after troublemakers.'
The comments from Trump on increasing arrests come as more than 4,100 people were taken into custody across the country over the weekend in the at least 145 cities participating in protests, demonstrations and riots.
President Trump held talks with his Barr, law enforcement officials and state leaders as violence continues to escalate in the sixth day of protests in cities all over the country in the wake of George Floyd's death.
Barr visited the White House for an Oval Office meeting with the president Monday morning, and shortly after, Trump hosted a video conference with governors, law enforcement leaders and national security officials in the Situation Room to discuss ways to keep American communities safe.
Cities across the nation appear war-torn after rioters set establishments and cars in the middle of streets on fire, smashed windows of local stores and looted their shelves and clashed with law enforcement.
Trump had to flee to the White House bunker to shelter in place for a short period of time on Friday, it was revealed on Sunday, as protesters surrounding the White House.
Many governors activated the National Guard in their states and sent them to cities being affected by protests turned to violence.
Governors and mayors also went public, both on their own mediums and in interviews with networks, claiming that while they support rioters' right to gather, they are pleading for an end to the violence and destruction in their cities as a means of protesting.
The president did not appear publicly on Sunday to address the rioters, who have engulfed the perimeter of the White House as well taken to the streets in several other U.S. cities, he did weigh in on Twitter, claiming that governors need to activate the National Guard in their states.
He lauded the improvements over the weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota by the National Guard's presence – and while the demonstrations have appeared less violent since they started at the end of last week, police in the city said they discovered Sunday caches of homemade firebombs around the city.
The president has told aides that he's concerned about his safety as the White House went dark after it turned off its lights in a rare move Sunday night while protests and riots continued a few hundred yards away from the residence.
The rioters also set a fire to American Flags in Lafayette Square, the park adjacent to the North Lawn of the White House – and they were hit by tear gas by law enforcement.
More than 50 Secret Service agents were injured in clashes with protesters in the nation's capital, and more than 4,100 people were arrested across the country over the weekend as everything from peaceful protests to riots emerged in at least 145 cities.
WHAT TRUMP TOLD GOVERNORS
During a 55-minute call with governors, an agitated Trump called them 'jerks' and 'fools.'
'What happened in the state of Minnesota, they were a laughing stock all over the world.
They took over the police department, the police were running down the street, sirens blazing, the rest of them running. It was on camera.
And then they worked out they'll probably have to build a new one. But I've never seen anything like it and the whole world was laughing.
So two days later I spoke to the governor and the governor was [indistinct] And all if a sudden, I said you've got to use the national guard, they didn't first then they did.
I don't know what it was, the third night those guys walked through like that stuff like it was butter.
They walked right through and you haven't had any problems since. I mean they know and they're not going, to go there, they're probably going some other place.
But once you cool down and you dominated you took the worst place and you made it, they didn't even come there last night because there was so much less, because you dominated. You dominated.
Now what happens in New York and it happened [indistinct] in Manhattan, what's going on in Manhattan I have no idea. New York's finest, they've got to be allowed to do their jobs, I don't know what's happening but it's terrible but because it's New York, because it's Manhattan it gets a lot of press. So they really spent a lot of time on it. But New York is going to have to toughen up.
You have the largest police force in the country, 40,000 people I understand but what's going on in New York is terrible, terrible, of all the places.
What went on last night in Los Angeles with the stores, the Starbucks, is terrible.
No domination. You have to dominate and start imprisoning.'
In another portion of the call, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that he said:
'We got a lot of men. We have all the men and women that you need. But people aren't calling them up. You have to dominate
If you don't dominate you're wasting your time. They're going to run over you. You're going to look like a bunch of jerks.
And you have to arrest people and you have to try people and they have to go to jail for a long periods of time.'
He also spoke about his own experience in Washington D.C.
'Washington was under very good control and we're going to have it under more control. We're going to pull in thousands of people. But you've got to arrest people. You have to try people. You have to put them in jail for 10 years and you'll never see this stuff.
And you have to let them know that. They're trying to get people out on bail in Minneapolis. I understand they're in there trying to get all these guys out on bail.'
Protesters set an American flag on fire at Lafayette Park in front of the White House as they rallied against police brutality on Sunday evening, and were hit with tear gas by law enforcement
D.C. was also among the 40 cities that imposed a curfew as riots escalated after sundown.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Monday that some of the protesters that terrorized the city overnight had come prepared with tools and supplies, and claimed that they set fires to draw police away from where they were planning to riot, loot and cause destruction.
'We recognize that people are frustrated and mad but tearing up our beautiful city is not the way to bring attention to what is a righteous cause,' Bowser told NBC News' Today.
Just after the 11:00 p.m. curfew passed, a fire broke out at St. John's Episcopal Church, which was spared from protests the day before.
The riots broke out after video emerged of, George Floyd (pictured), being killed after a white police officer held his knee on his neck for eight minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Memorial Day
While Trump remained out of sight in the midst of the riots, his advisers discussed the prospect of an Oval Office address in an attempt to ease tensions. The notion was quickly scrapped for lack of policy proposals and the president's own seeming disinterest in delivering a message of unity.
Instead, Trump has urged governors to activate the National Guard, demanding they 'get tough, but has not sought control of the Army reservists himself to quell the nationwide riots.
The violence ensued after George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed while in a white police officer's custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
A cellphone video of the incident went viral where Derek Chauvin, 44, can be seen holding his knee on Floyd's neck during an arrest for more than eight minutes as the victim repeatedly said he could not breathe.
While Floyd was handcuffed, four cops, including Chauvin, were holding him down.
Chauvin was fired after the video emerged and taken into custody on Friday after the violent protesters demanded he be arrested – and he is being charged with third-degree murder.
The other three officers have not been arrested.
Trump has also blamed the media, Democrats and outside groups for exacerbating the riots – asserting on Sunday that he is classifying the far-left anti-fascists group Antifa as a terrorist organization.
Antifa has no official leaders, and it could appear their fingerprints are all over the riots as their demonstrations include violent tactics that they deem justifiable.
'Congratulations to our National Guard for the great job they did immediately upon arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last night,' Trump tweeted Sunday morning. 'The ANTIFA led anarchists, among others, were shut down quickly. Should have been done by Mayor on first night and there would have been no trouble!'
Minnesota law enforcement say that they believe white supremacists have infiltrated the riots in Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to stoke violent demonstrators.
'They're agitators, 'Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell told CNN on Sunday, adding that there have been reports of Antifa members attending demonstrations.
While Trump does feel an outside group is involved, he asserted Monday that he does not believe that there were white supremacist groups mixed in with those protesting the death of George Floyd.
He instead doubled-down on blaming Antifa for the violent skirmishes with police.
'I don't see any indication that there were any white supremest groups mixing in. This is an ANTIFA Organization,' the president asserted.
'It seems that the first time we saw it in a major way was Occupy Wall Street. It's the same mindset,' Trump said, tagging 'Fox & Friends' host Brian Kilmeade and crediting him for the comment.
Derek Chauvin, 44, was arrested Friday on charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, which has sparked violent protests
He also replied 'TRUE!' to the Kilmeade quote, and misspelled the word 'supremacist.'
Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was asked Friday about reports that White Supremacists were involved and he answered, 'My suspicions and what I've seen on this, yes.'
'It gets worse than that,' he added. 'The cartels, who are wondering if there was a break in their drugs transmissions, are trying to take advantage of the chaos. That's why this situation is on a federal level.'
While governors and mayors scramble to create more peace in their major cities, the president is blaming them not calling in the National Guard for aggravating the violent situations.
'Get tough Democrat Mayors and Governors,' Trump urged in a tweet. 'These people are ANARCHISTS. Call in our National Guard NOW.'
'The World is watching and laughing at you and Sleepy Joe,' he continued, referring to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. 'Is this what America wants? NO!!!'
By Sunday evening, Trump followed up his calls for the National Guard with a tweet that simply read: 'LAW & ORDER!'
So far, 15 states and Washington, D.C. have deployed the Guard.
Rioters continue to take to the streets, becoming especially active after sundown, in major cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Seattle, Washington, D.C. and beyond.
While there have been at least 4,100 arrests in cities across the country this weekend and countless protesters, rioters and law enforcement officials have been injured, there are at least five instances where people have been killed in the midst of the violence.
Gunfire rang out during the riots this weekend leading to deaths in Detroit, Michigan and Indianapolis, Indiana.
In Omaha, Nebraska, a 22-year-old black protester was killed in a struggle with a local business owner.
A man was shot dead by law enforcement officers in Louisville on Sunday on the fourth night of unrest in the city in a shooting believed to be linked to the protests.
Louisville's protests, in particular, have also focused on the March 13 death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot eight times by narcotics detectives who knocked down her front door.
Chaos had unfolded in cities across America with more than 50 Secret Service agents injured in clashes with protesters in Washington DC, police charging into demonstrators in New York City and lootings continuing to unfold in major cities like California, Philadelphia and Boston.
Demonstrations from Washington DC to Los Angeles swelled from peaceful protests - sparked by the death of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis police custody last Monday - into scenes of violence that drew National Guard troops in at least 15 states and Washington.
More than 4,100 people were arrested this weekend alone as the violence continued to escalate and cities enacted strict curfews.
WHAT IS THE ANTI-FASCIST MOVEMENT (ANTIFA)
The anti-fascist protest movement known as antifa gained new prominence in the United States after the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA, in August 2017.
In Charlottesville and at many subsequent events held by white supremacists or right-wing extremists, antifa activists have aggressively confronted what they believe to be authoritarian movements and groups.
While most counter-protestors tend to be peaceful, there have been several instances where encounters between antifa and the far-right have turned violent.
The antifa sometimes use a logo with a double flag, usually in black and red
These violent counter-protesters are often part of 'antifa' (short for 'antifascist'), a loose collection of groups, networks and individuals who believe in active, aggressive opposition to far right-wing movements. Their ideology is rooted in the assumption that the Nazi party would never have been able to come to power in Germany if people had more aggressively fought them in the streets in the 1920s and 30s.
Most antifa come from the anarchist movement or from the far left, though since the 2016 presidential election, some people with more mainstream political backgrounds have also joined their ranks.
The antifa sometimes use a logo with a double flag, usually in black and red. The antifa movement began in the 1960s in Europe, and had reached the US by the end of the 1970s. Most people who show up to counter or oppose white supremacist public events are peaceful demonstrators, but when antifa show up, as they frequently do, they can increase the chances that an event may turn violent.
Antifa have expanded their definition of fascist/fascism to include not just white supremacists and other extremists, but also many conservatives and supporters of President Trump.
Because there is no unifying body for antifa, it is impossible to know how many 'members' are currently active. Different localities have antifa populations of different strengths, but antifa are also sometimes willing to travel hundreds of miles to oppose a white supremacist event.
No comments: