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| Patrick Semansky/AP |
The president also announced that he was dispatching the military across Washington, D.C., and pleaded with governors to “dominate” their streets with help from the National Guard. If governors refused, he said, he would send in troops.
"Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled," he said. "If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the U.S. military and quickly solve the problem for them."
He said he may invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act, which allows a president to deploy military inside thee country to deal with local uproars.
"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 will end it now."
After the statements in the Rose Garden, Trump and aides walked across Pennsylvania Avenue to pose, holding a Bible, before cameras at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
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| Tom Brenner/Reuters |