
Protests continue for eighth day, with Trump accused of misusing religious symbols.
President Trump says he’s deploying thousands of heavily armed soldiers and law enforcement officers to stop violence in the US capital, and has vowed to do the same in other cities if mayors and governors fail to regain control of their streets.
Unrest continued for an eighth day, as thousands in cities across America continued to march over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd.
Police used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse demonstrators in downtown Seattle during protests against the death of George Floyd. https://t.co/y7oIke5cKp pic.twitter.com/KDipcjlkDU
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) June 2, 2020
Following a brief address in the Rose Garden, Trump walked out of the White House grounds and toward St. John’s Church, which was damaged in the protests on Sunday.
The President held a bible as he stood in front of the boarded up church building in Lafayette Square, just north of the White House.
“We have the greatest country in the world,” he said outside the church, in a move critics say was a misuse of religious symbols for partisan purposes.
Sources tell NBC News that Trump’s unannounced walk to the church “was his idea” because he “wanted the visual.”
Trump was frustrated by news reports that Secret Service officers ushered him to the White House bunker during Friday night’s unrest. https://t.co/9zcDJtiAav
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 2, 2020