President Trump promised that he “will fight to protect” the nation in an address from the Rose Garden Monday night as protestors clashed with police less than a mile away amid nationwide protests stemming from the death of George Floyd.
“I am mobilizing all available federal resources, civilian and military, to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson, and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your 2nd Amendment rights,” Trump stated in his address, adding that he would dispatch “thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers military personnel” to the nation’s capitol after widespread rioting. “These are not acts of peaceful protest. These are acts of domestic terror,” he warned.
Trump also appeared to invoke the Insurrection Act, a 19th century law that allows him to deploy the military domestically, if governors do not deploy “the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets.” Earlier Monday, Trump repeatedly told the nation’s governors to “dominate” the situation.
He ended his speech by saying he would go “pay respects” to a “very special place,” and then left the White House to make a visit to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church — which was burned by rioters on Sunday night.
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