US president Trump vows to mobilize federal resources in address to nation

WASHINGTON D.C., Jun 2, 2020, Fox News. President Trump said during a statement in the Rose Garden on Monday that he is taking “immediate action” to mobilize “all available federal resources” to stop riots and looting across the country, threatening to deploy the military if states don’t send in the National Guard to protests, Fox News reported.

“I will fight to protect you,” Trump said in an evening protest, ahead of what’s expected to be more protests in the city of Washington on Monday night over the death in Minnesota of George Floyd.

Immediately following the speech, in an extraordinary scene, the president and his entourage walked outside of the White House, across Lafayette Square, to St. Johns Episcopal Church, which caught on fire during the protesters the night before.

During the brief visit, the president stood in front of the boarded-up church and held up a Bible. He was accompanied by a variety of aides and officials, including Attorney General Bill Barr, daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

On Sunday night rioters set fire to the parish house at St. John’s. The parish house contains offices and parlors for gatherings. The basement, which was also torched, is used for childcare during church services, and had recently undergone renovations. However, the damage could have been “a lot worse,” according to Rev. Rob Fisher.

“I am happy to share with you that I could see no other real damage besides that one room, and quite a bit of graffiti and debris around the exterior of the church,” Fisher said on Facebook. “Protestors easily could have done a lot worse to our buildings, but they chose not to do that. (The damage I saw to other nearby buildings illustrated this point.)”