The president declared the protests are “acts of domestic terror”, and said he would be taking “immediate presidential action to stop the violence”.
“I am mobilising 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 second amendment rights,” Trump said.
The president said he had “strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets”.
“Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled,” he added.
The president said if a city or state “refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents”, he would deploy the US military and “quickly solve the problem for them”.
Trump said he was also taking “swift and decisive action to protect our great capital Washington DC”.
“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,” he said.
“We are putting everybody on warning. A 7:00pm curfew will be strictly enforced.”
The president also blamed state and local governments for failing to “take necessary action to safeguard their residents”, and called out anti-fascist group Antifa for being “leading instigators of this violence”.
“In recent days our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, Antifa and others,” he said.
He later added: “These are not acts of peaceful protests. These are acts of domestic terror, the destruction of domestic terror, the destruction of innocent life and the spilling of innocent life and the spilling of innocent blood is an offence to humanity and a crime against God.”
