People at some point doing what is right when their Office Demands it. And i can be consistently disappointed by somebody in his position with the kind of guidance he has around him saying so many bad things so often. Guidance . Who . There are smart people around him who know that hes not supposed to be saying what he said tonight. Like . Hes got advisers who know better. I know they do. Im not surprised by the actions. Im surprised by what he said. I should say the actions of how it all played out like a reality show. Not surprised by that. Im surprised at that about sending the military out and that whole message where he comes off as a modernday dictator. Thats just talk. He cant do any of that. Okay, but still he would like to. Right. He would like to but he cant. Hes playing a role. But do you remember the day when we were told that this president was going to come out and Say Something about his role in birtherism and barack obama and that he was finally going to say i was wrong. Yeah. What have you. You know what he did for a long time . He promoted his hotels. He got the media to go live. Promoted his hotels, and the last thing he said was, okay, barack obama was born in this country, and then he left the stage. Did not take questions. Then he did that over and over and over. And guess what . The media kept falling for it over and over and over. And thats why i said today that when you deal with someone like this, an Administration Like this, you have to be really careful about how you cover them and the strategy because theyre always trying to play you. Its a show. This is not about the American People. This is not about a democracy. This is about numero uno, donald trump. He is a showman. He is playing the media. He wants to be reelected come november and nothing else matters. Doesnt care about Police Brutality. Dont care about how minorities are treated in this country. Doesnt care about any of that. He doesnt even care about the people who are who love him and laugh, oh, my gosh, donald trump. He doesnt care about those people. How many of those people can afford to stay in his hotels . None. Pretty much none of them. So he does not care about that. Before he was president , you knew him. Your family is from here. Your family grew up here. Did you see him hanging out with those kinds of people . Nope. Okay then, that answers your question. So people who know him, people who are in the media should have known today that he was going for the law and order play. And all of it was coming together. Going to get the people in washington, were going to create a stir. The attorney generals going to come out, hes going to look over the troops and then theyre going to go in and this president is going to look strong for his what . People. For his constituents. Well, he botched that last support. That was one of the most lame things ive ever seen, what he did today. At the same time he was saying he was allied with Peaceful Protesters. He was he had people smashing into them with plexiglass shields and using tear gas on them. That shows he doesnt care. At the same time, it was a lie in real time. He timed it perfectly. The last time he went to church, even go inside. No. New years. You know what they say about people afraid to walk inside a church. He held up a bible, don, outside a church that is known for social justice work in its community. Yeah. Were going to talk about that. Didnt want him there. Two corinthians. Im sure he read it as he went in. Thank you very much, chris. Ill see you tomorrow. Later on tonight, by the way. Yes, sir. Love you, brother. So weve got a lot to cover. This is cnn tonight. Im don lemon. Tonight, america, democracy or dictatorship, america . It is your choice. And as we wait to see which it will be, there are curfews coast to coast as protests spread in American Cities. And all over americas cities. This is what the Trump Presidency has come to. What happened in our nations capital. Our nation. Just a few hours ago it was really stunning. Peaceful protesters fired on with tear gas, rubber bullets, flash bangs to drive them out of Lafayette Park in washington, d. C. The sound clearly heard in the rose garden as the president shamelessly proclaimed himself the president of law and order. I am your president of law and order and an ally of all Peaceful Protesters. But in recent days our nation has been gripped by profession anarchists, violent mobs, arsonist, looters, criminals, antifa and others. Do not believe this man as he lies to your face. An ally of Peaceful Protesters . This is what happened just minutes before that. And in a minute im going to tell you why. Driving Peaceful Protesters out of Lafayette Park, tear gassing them in the streets, denying american citizens their rights to protest. And to make their voices heard. So he could put on a show. Play acting the part of mr. Law and order. And as his props, he will use the u. S. Military that he is supposed to use to defend our citizens. What he wants is for his voters to see him standing on the steps of a church, apparently the image needs to have him scowling. It is the first time hes visited a church since christmas eve, by the way, and he didnt have permission to be there. Standing there with a bible in his hand, a bible that wasnt even his own. Is that your bible . Its a baseball. Bible. Can i see that picture again, please . Can we see that again . Is that your bible . Its a bible. Its a bible. What was what was that all about . With the bible. What he wants is for his voters to see him. Look at that. Its complete photoop. Surrounded by his staff, all of them, by the way, as we see that all of them white. Look at that. The picture of diversity right there. Look at america. As he holds somebodys bible. He answered it for you. The reporter said, is that your bible . Its a baseball. Bible. While they were standing at that church, they didnt even bother to pray. They didnt pray for justice for the floyd family. They didnt pray for wisdom for our leaders. They didnt pray for the strength to guide america through this moment of turmoil. They didnt pray for the more than 105,000 americans dead from the coronavirus. It was an empty and craven as empty and craven a gesture as you can get. As just as words can get. His words calling for healing not hatred. Those are the emptiest words ive ever heard. This is the president who demanded today that governors dominate protesters in their states. Whose secretary of defense talked about americans and American Cities as a battle space. In my urging, i agree, we need to dominate the battle space. The battle space. The president claims that he is on the side of peaceful Peaceful Protesters. This is a president who called nfl players kneeling peacefully to protest Police Brutality and racial injustice. Remember, and im quoting here, sons of bitches. The president is so empty, so petty, small. He thinks hes tough. He actually wants you to think that. He probably knows that deep down inside he is weak, that he is selfish, that he is a complete disappointment. That he never lives up to the office he holds. Probably why he always harkens back to the former president. He wants to so much be like barack obama but he just cant buy class. He just cant buy the intelligence. He just cant buy the adoration of the American People. He was so upset about the reporting that he was rushed into the white house bunkered during the protests on friday night that he told aides that he wanted to be seen outside the white house gates and cooked up this disgraceful obvious, glaring stunt. This, everyone, is a story of desperation. This president is desperate to hang on to power. The American People are desperate to be heard. A real leader would rise to the occasion here. Would listen to americans voices of protest. Really hear them. That would be a true sign of strength, a true sign of leadership, a true sign of a president. And this president is proving again tonight just how weak he is. But he is a weak man who commands armies. Who orders states to dominate their citizens. Here is a prayer for you tonight. For all of us. Are you ready . Everybody together. God help the United States of mesh. America. Amen. Cnns Jason Carroll is in brooklyn for us tonight at the Barclays Center. Jason, we saw some images tonight of peaceful protests. We also saw some looting in new york city earlier tonight. Tell us what is happening now. Reporter well, we started at the Barclays Center and now were in a section of crown heights, and the crowd has grown to, by our estimate, don, of more than 1,000 people. You talked about people who wanted to have their voices heard. Whether or not 1,000 of them still marching right now through the streets of brooklyn. Right now in the section of crown heights. And a little earlier, you know, there were speakers who were talking about the looting, talking about the vandalism and they said, look, we dont want our message to get lost here, so stop with that and keep with the member, b message, but as you know, in less than an hour from now, an 11 00 curfew is going to go into effect so there have been a lot of questions about whats going to happen. Ive been talking to a lot of people out here and saying, look, what are you going to do, what are you going to do when 11 00 rolls around . They made it very clear theyre going to keep having their message heard. They also said theyre going to wait to see what the police do. I said, what do you mean by that . One of the young women out here said to me, given all she has seen, a lot of them are waiting to see and will react in kind to whatever the police decide to do. And as you know, last night there were, what, some 4,000 Police Officers out in the streets of new york. Tonight that number is doubled. And city officials have already made it clear that anyone who is out here who is not considered essential will be placed under arrest. Charged with a misdemeanor. You could face, what, 90 days in jail. But the people ive spoken to out here say, look, we are prepared to go to jail. We are prepared to do whatever we have to do to get our message out. And to make sure that we are heard. Don . Jason carroll joining us from brooklyn. In new york. Jason, thank you so much. We also saw images, live images of chicago up on your screen as well. In the meantime, i want to get to louisville, kentucky and cnns Evan Mcmorris santoro joins us now live there from. Evan, what are you seeing . Reporter hi, don. How are you doing . Let me just set the scene for you here. Louisville, of course, is dealing with two of these tragic deaths that was up until this morning, of Brionna Taylor shot by police in march and then, of course, the george floyd protest that has fueled so much around the country, but this morning, early this morning there was another incident involving the death of a local barbecue purveying, wellknown guy who also was shot in a police action. Thats currently under state investigation. That led to protests. There were that took place on the west side of town and here downtown where the protests have been going on as part of the George Floyd Movement for quite a while. Now, 9 00 was the curfew. Some people dissipated. Some people did not. And the police are starting to move in here to jefferson square. Weve had some pepper balls fire, weve had some tear gas. You know, the crowd wasnt doing anything really before the police moved in, except for being out after curfew, but once the police started to move, you did see some of the protesters throwing Water Bottles and things like that. Now, this city is in the middle of trying to have a conversation about policing while this is going on. After the Brionna Taylor death, the mayor and Police Officials got together and decided that the noknock warrant which is seen as being part of the reason why she died is now under investigation with new rules about how to use it. Then this morning, following the death of david mcatee that i mentioned, the barbecue purveyor, the Police Body Cams allegedly were not on and that led to the firing of the police chief. Now, the police chief was already set to retire at the end of june, but he has now been fired by the mayor. So, complicated, but the end result is this city, which is gripped by the same protests everywhere else is, is trying to do Police Reform while this is going on. And, of course, right now weve seen the interactions between police and protesters that weve seen all across the country and theres tear gas and everything else. Don . Evan Mcmorris Santoro in louisville, thank you. Well check back. I want to get to Cnns Kaitlan Collins now who joins us now from washington. Kaitlan, new reporting tonight as to why peaceful protests near the white house protesters, i should say. Why they were forcibly cleared out so the president could have a photoop in front of a nearby church. What do you know about that . Reporter yeah, don, it was about half an hour before the president came out to the rose garden, and we started seeing them they issued three really quick warnings to these protesters who were here in Lafayette Park. Lafayette square. Standing here. No acts of violence or anything that we had seen from the eight hours or so that wed been up here. Then very quickly they moved them out of the way with tear gas, flash bangs, batons, shields, the whole thing. And then the president spoke in in the rose garden. To it seemed like those two were connected. Then at the end of those remarks, don, he said hes going to go visit a special place. Walked to the st. Johns church, something ive never seen him do, walk out of the front doors of the white house and came over here and took pictures with his top aides. Were hearing from sources and what i heard from my colleague kevin lip tack. The president was frustrated how he had been rushed to the bunker as the protests were breaking out in front of the white house. He wanted to be seen outside the gates of the white house today. And that is what played a part of a role in why the president made the decision to leave the white house and walk over to this church here behind us, which of course now is raising so many questions after these Peaceful Protesters had been pushed out of the way with tear gas and forced off of a blocked street so the president could walk over here to take those pictures with his top advisers. Kaitlan, i want i want you to just stand by for me because were looking at pictures, live pictures from washington, d. C. Where protesters are throwing rocks and they are getting in the face of our photojournalist who is on the scene there. Im not exactly sure where this shot is. I know it is in d. C. You can see the capitol in the foreground, in the distance there. And im sure not reporter yeah, theyre not over here by the white house anymore. Im sure not too terribly far from where you are, kaitlan, but not too terribly close either. But, again, thats the scene in washington, d. C. You can see the window there. As soon as they focus up. Has been smashed. The window has been smashed. And well continue to follow these pictures. So, kaitlan, talk to me about about the president s announcement threatening a military crackdown in states on the same day that he called governors weak. Reporter yeah. Earlier he berated governors on that call, saying that they were weak, that they werent doing enough to crack down on protesters who were turning violent, where its becoming riots, where they are breaking windows of offices, lighting cars on fire, looting, things of that nature. He basically vowed in the rose garden if governors dont do enough, he is going to get involved, and that means the military is going to get involved. Thats what he was threatening there in the rose garden earlier. The question is how does that materialize . Earlier we know he said hed put the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in charge, though later the press secretary did not elaborate on exactly what that meant. But basically the president is threatening to invoke the insurrection act. So what that looks like and whether or not this actually comes to where military force is used in the United States of america, something that, of course, is not typical unless you see, like, a hurricane or something of that nature, but thats what the president is threatening and that was his message tonight as he came out to the rose garden. But whats notable is hes talking about the protests that are turning violent. The one that are turning into riots. He said hes an ally of peaceful protests, but, of course, don, we saw what happened to the peaceful protest that was happening outside of the white house just a few hours ago. Mmhmm. Kaitlan collins joining us from washington. Kaitlan, stand by. If need be, well get back to you. Again, were looking at live pictures from washington, d. C. And these are protesters who are violating the curfew. Its a shaky shot. Dont necessarily have control of this camera. But, again, these are protesters who are out violating the curfew in d. C. The president saying earlier that obviously sending out members of the military and the national guard. Promising force for these americans who are out on the street. Most of them peacefully protesting. Some of them obviously, as you are seeing, breaking the law and and damaging property as they should not be. And this is the seventh night that this is happening. And, again, but the president promising order. We will see if that order maintains this evening and into the future. It appears that they have that tear gas has been fired into this small crowd of protesters. This is just north of the capitol. But, again, we will keep our eye on these pictures. I want to get to cnns senior legal analyst Preet Bharara to weigh in on all of this. Preet, good evening to you. So glad you could join us here. Listen, the president is threatening to invoke the insurrection act of 1807 if violence continues. What is this and is this legal . So, you know, sometimes the president of the United States says things that are nonsensical and dont make any sense and doesnt have a legal leg to stand on. That happened, for example, this past weekend when he said in a tweet he was going to designate antifa as a terrorist organization. Anyone who knows anything about the prosecution of terrorism understand theres is no Legal Mechanism for doing that. Doesnt change the way federal prosecutors can do their job or the way the Intelligence Community can. No legal leg to stand on there, just a stunt and a bit of rhetoric in a tweet. In this, i see a lot of people are getting this wrong on social media and other places. He does have a legal leg to stand on. Everyone understands that generally speaking in this country you dont deploy military forces to enforce local laws. We dont like that. Thats what they do in some other countries and were not that kind of a country, but we also provide for flexibility in our system so that in certain limited circumstances, as provided for in the insurrection act, as you mentioned, from 1807, in certain limited circumstances, if certain conditions are met, the president can call upon the military to enforce local laws. The last time it was used was 28 years ago in 1992 after the rodney king incident and situation in los angeles. And that situation local authorities asked for the federal government to come in. It was pinpointed. It was local. It was narrow and it was targeted. It was for a limited time. There are two other provisions of the insurrection act that allow a president of the United States to bring in the military if, for example, its needed to put down what is called in the statute on insurrection or Domestic Violence or in another circumstance, if federal or state laws are being stymied or being not being able to be enforced. That, in fact, was a provision used by president eisenhower and president john f. Kennedy back in the 50s and 60s to enforce civil rights law. So it may be toxic, it may be grandstanding, it may be not smart, it may be divisive, but the president does have some leg to stand on to call in the military. On the other hand, its the kind of things that he threatens all the time and doesnt follow through on. Preet bharara, our time is short. Appreciate it. Need to continue to follow the breaking news here. This is the breaking news coming out of washington and out of many states excuse me, many cities all over the country. Peaceful protests near the white house earlier really disrupted by the president of the United States himself. Were watching these pictures. Im told this is just north of the capitol. We see folks on the ground who have who are defying the curfew orders of the District Of Columbia and they are on the streets after 10 00 p. M. Eastern. Really, after 9 00 p. M. Eastern. And there you see Law Enforcement out trying to get these people off of the streets. We will continue to follow these breaking this breaking news and these images from cities all across the country. Were boack right after a quick break. You know whats good about this . Your signs pointing at my sign, so people are gonna look at my sign. Switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. You know, like the sign says. You cant always stop for a fingerstick. Betes with the freestyle libre 14 day system, a continuous glucose monitor, you dont have to. With a painless, onesecond scan you can check your glucose with a smart phone or reader so you can stay in the moment. No matter where you are or what youre doing. Ask your doctor for a prescription for the freestyle libre 14 day system. You can do it without fingersticks. Learn more at freestylelibre. Us. However, there is one thing you can be certain of. The men and women of the United States postal service. Were here to deliver cards and packages from loved ones and also deliver the peace of mind of knowing that essentials like prescriptions are on their way. Every day, all across america, we deliver for you. And we always will. All right. As we go back on the air right now, these are live pictures from oakland, california right now. Oakland, california, courtesy of our affiliate kgo, a fairly sizeable crowd in the middle of the street there. We will watch these pictures and see if it remains peaceful or if there are some flareups. We have our eye on several cities around the United States this evening. Peaceful protesters near the white house hit with tear gas and rubber bullets tonight. Also, President Trump could walk across the street for a photoop. At the historic st. Johns church. The churchs basement caught fire during the protests last night. Joining me now to discuss all of this is the churchs director reverend robert fisher. Thank you so much for joining us, reverend, we appreciate it. Thank you, thank you for having me. You say st. Johns has been open every sunday until covid, but how often has the president come to worship . So ive been at st. Johns since midjune last year and he hasnt been at that time. His last time attending church on a sunday was actually st. Patricks day of 2019. Okay. So the president said he was going to pay respects at st. John after it was damaged last night, but he didnt go inside, he didnt say a prayer, he posed for the cameras holding a bible and they tear gassed people to clear the way for him to do that . Give me your reaction to that. Its a surreal day for me and for my parishioners, i believe. We have a long history and i dont think weve ever seen anything quite like this. You know, when we opened up more than 200 years ago, we have been a place of civility, but most importantly prayer. And to to be seen just as a backdrop really caught me by surprise. It was really, you know, just kind of shocking, you know . We had no warning that this was going to happen, and it troubles me deeply that people were removed from a peaceful protest right on our square by tear gas. So and i will add that i was with all the clergy of st. Johns and other clergy from our diocese with the protesters and it was it was beautiful and it was actually a spiritfilled time. Okay. So he they announced hes he does all this with the protesters you were actually with and then he makes his way over to you had no idea and youre the director . No idea. Nothing . Okay. No, no idea. So you were with them. Thats the thing we were noticing at home. We are not on the ground. You were on the ground. What we could see from the pictures is that it was very peaceful until the attorney general came out and it got close to the time the president was going to come out and then all of a sudden, pardon the word, all hell broke loose. And what do you think what do you make of the president using the church really as a Political Tool to make a political point . Do you believe that he should use a sacred space to make a political point in front of the cameras and in front of the world . Its just not what were about. Plain and simple. Yeah. Right before he crossed the street, he said that he was calling thousands and really thousands of military into the streets. Is that a particularly christian thing to do . You know, we believe in respecting the dignity and worth of every human being. And i believe that thats the only way forward is to demonstrate that in a bigger way. And what you just described is not demonstrating that. You have said that the Church Damage can be repaired and that youre praying for the country to heal after the trauma of George Floyds death. What message would you like to send to protesters tonight, reverend . I pray that the message gets heard. I pray that the message that is being put out bravely by people who are tired, understandably, i pray that the message will not fall on deaf ears and that takes something to change. Because right now its understandable that people are feeling that no one is listening and nobody cares. Whats your prayer tonight . I pray for healing. Weve talked a lot about sickness in this country because of covid. Weve talked a lot about racism because it is a reality we have to i want to talk start shifting so that our hearts are moving towards the cure, which is the healing that i believe as a spiritual person is what we what we what we have to find, what we have to work for. Reverend, thank you. I appreciate it. Be safe. Thank you. Im going to go to cnns ed lavandera. Well check in with him now in dallas, texas. Ed, youre on a bridge. Whats going on . Reporter hey, don. Well, we are on the margaret hunthill bridge which is just west of Downtown Dallas where it is a massive scene. Protesters have shut down the bridge here. What is interesting is that this started off as a peaceful protest on the steps of the county courthouse here in dallas and then just they started marching and there is a curfew zone that is set up around Downtown Dallas. The marchers have been skirting the edge of that curfew zone and then turned on to this bridge, and that is where they were met by hundreds of Law Enforcement officers and these protesters. It is essentially almost like a scene of civil disobedience at this point. As you can see, the protesters here on the ground. Hundreds of officers have detained many of these protesters using zip ties. Most of them are being seated. Others here at the end of the bridge are still being processed as they are being detained here on the bridge. That is what Dallas Police are saying. But this bridge is essentially shut down as these protesters were moving peacefully throughout much of the evening. There was a confrontation here. Tear gas several tear gas canisters were fired off here, don, as the officers moved in from the west side of the bridge and the marchers were going toward them. And the showdown happened here in the middle of this bridge. And this is where it has all come to a ahead. From what i can tell, i dont get any sense that people were injured in this confrontation. The protesters are peacefully sitting down. Theyve been detained. This group you see just beyond the ridge here and the railing, this is on the other side of this highway. Is where most of them are being seated. I presume that there will be a large truck to gather and move these protesters away from this bridge. As i mentioned off the top, there is a curfew in place that was in place at it ended at it started at 7 00 p. M. Central time, but that is only for certain zones of Downtown Dallas, so we are outside of that curfew zone that was set up by the city of dallas earlier or yesterday and has extended into today as well, but that is the scene right here, don, where this bridge completely shut down by the protesters, and in the process of being detained. So, ed, quick question for you. If this is outside of the curfew zone, were these protesters peaceful . Also, were looking at pictures now stand by stand by, ed. Dont go anywhere. Were looking at a reporter sure. Pictures in los angeles. A Police Officer chasing someone through an l. A. Neighborhood. The officer running there, losing his cap. The protester running mask on, losing his his property as well. There you see the police ooh. Police officers caught up with him. The protesters head hit the bumper of that car. That must have hurt. And they are putting those zip ties on him. Or her. It appears to be a him from this Vantage Point, but i dont know. Im just going to say him for now. But this is a one of the scenes one of the conflicts playing out in cities all across the country. And this is where it started, in this parking lot, which appears to be a supermarket of a store of some type. I cant tell. These pictures are being controlled by our affiliate chopper ktla, and so they have control over the images. There is someone else in zip ties there as well. And so, again, some of the conflict thats playing out and there if you next to that police car youll see someone else on the ground. That was just thats just and they just stood up. This the possibility here, the probability, i should say, is probably looting at this point. I dont want to say that for sure. But i dont see a crowd of people. I dont see People Holding signs. I dont see a group of people kneeling or chanting. So we will say thats the probability. Back to ed lavandera joining us in dallas with my question. Ed, so if youre outside of the curfew zone, were these protesters peaceful . And if they were, then what did they do to be detained . Reporter well, this to back up a little bit here, don. This started about a half mile away from here. This is where they had been doing a peaceful the peaceful protests and then they just started marching down the street. We dont know the exact reason for what the official reason is, i should say, for why theyre being detained, but i presume its going to have to its going to be related to marching on the public streets here and essentially blocking traffic on to the margaret hunthill bridge where were standing in the middle of right now. But we have not heard any kind of official description from Dallas Police or Texas Department of public safety, which is the state troopers here in the state of texas. And i should point out that since the violence erupted and the protests erupted on friday night, extended into saturday night as well, sunday night was by and large extremely peaceful and quiet. Thousands of state troopers and Dallas Police basically surrounding Downtown Dallas and blocking it off to protesters. Today those that was an area that was shut down by the curfew yesterday, and thats why you saw the protesters today gagging outside of those curfew lines. And doing their protest earlier today just a short while ago. And this protest had been marching for just a few minutes, essentially. They had gone about a half hour. Okay. Reporter i mean a half mile. In fact, we can turn around here, don. You see the Reunion Tower ball, the iconic downtown sky image, the building you might see the shadow of right in front of that building, that is the county jail and the county courthouse where all of this started and they started marching down the street here to the left and then wound their way up here on to this bridge where everything has now been shut down. Don . Ed lavandera following the breaking news for us in dallas, texas. Ed, we will check back. Stay safe. The president threatening to invoke military force if local officials dont crack down on the protests over the death of george floyd. The former nato supreme allied commander weighs in along with former police and secret Service Officials as we watch these pictures from los angeles. A very heavy military force, Law Enforcement force on the ground there in los angeles. Well be right back. Sleep this amazing . Thats a zzzquil pure zzzs sleep. Our gummies contain a unique botanical blend, while an optimal melatonin level means no nextday grogginess. Zzzquil pure zzzs. Naturally superior sleep. Yeah. This moving thing never gets any easier. Well, xfinity makes moving super easy. I can transfer my internet and tv service in about a minute. Wow, that is easy. Almost as easy as having those guys help you move. We are those guys. Thats you . The truck adds 10 pounds. In the arms. Okay. Transfer your Service Online in a few easy steps. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Transfer your service in minutes, making moving with xfinity a breeze. Visit xfinity. Com moving today. President trump threatening to mobilize the military to crack down on protests, whether states want it or not. I want to discuss now with cnn military analyst general wesley clark, the former nato supreme allied commander. Cedric alexander, the former president of the National Organization of black law executives. And cnn Law Enforcement analyst jonathan wackrow, a former secret service agent. Gentlemen, im so happy to have you on to discuss whats happening in the country right now. Thank you so much. General, i will start with you. Ive got to get your reaction to what happened at the white house tonight. Did you ever think that youd see troops used to suppress peaceful protests like this . Terrible. Outrageous. Pure political theater. Total misuse of the United States armed forces. Embracing. And not only that, its embarrassing abroad. Its being used by our adversaries against us. A perfect example of how President Trump does what he thinks is his in his interest at the expense of whats in americas interest. So earlier my colleague chris cuomo said im surprised he actually did that, he has some smart people around him advising him. But the question is, okay, fine, whatever you think of that, he does have he does have very experienced members of the military around him advising him. Why would they allow him to go out and do this . Is does is it can they not say no to the commander in chief . Well, in this case, no, they probably couldnt say no. Look, he wanted an expensive parade with tanks to tear up the streets of washington, d. C. And that took months to dissuade him. And jim mattis, the secretary of defense, did that. He then deployed forces down to the border which were unnecessary and wasted during the Christmas Holiday period. And now hes used the military in this way. The armed forces takes the orders, as long as theyre legal, of the president of the United States. Thats their charge. So theyre captive. And, don, i hope the American People will appreciate this. The Senior Leadership in the armed forces, i think they know very well theyre being played politically. Maybe the troops dont all understand it. There may be troops out there that say, yeah, those looters are bad and i signed up and i want to do something to stop it. Fine. But the Senior Leadership know theyre being played. This is a misuse of the armed forces. Its really up to congress and the american electorate to put a stop to it. As we keep our eyes on the this live pictures coming out of los angeles, i want to go now to cedric alexander. And cedric, i may have to cut you off just to describe whats going on. Im not sure if you can see air, but this is a a u. S. City, and were seeing a number of u. S. Cities look looking like militarized zones. I want to play this amazing moment at a protest. This one is in new york city. Where things got tense, okay . And then the police chief, terence monaghan, addressed the crowd. You have to watch this. There is not a Police Officer over here that thinks minnesota was justified. We stand with you on that. But this is our city. Our city. Do not let people who are not from this city thats a fact. Have you come here and screw up your city. [ cheers and applause ] take a knee. Take a knee. You got it. You got it. All right. Thank you for supporting us. We got to continue supporting each other. Respect. So, Police Officers are taught to deescalate. This is a Police Officer doing that. We have seen Excessive Force from police at protests, but weve also seen some really positive moments like that one. Would deploying the military just make things worse . Is this not dont we need more of this instead of seeing militarized cities right now . Absolutely, don. Theres no question about it. You know, there are a number of chiefs and sheriffs around this country, a few of them, that certainly are demonstrating this same type of comradery people are beginning to show with their Communities Just as much as they do with their men and women. Thats what the people in the community want, they want to be joined by their police department. They want to feel a sense of trust. They want to feel that theyre legitimate, which really means i trust you. This chief here, it took a lot of courage, it took a lot of feelings. Hes a compassionate man. And he knows whats good for his city and for his community. We need more of that. But we need them to do it all the time. Not just in the space now, but all the time. Let me add one other thing, too, don. This case here with george floyd, it is importaeasy for al to recognize it was wrong. It is easy. It doesnt take a whole lot of courage to recognize what happened was wrong. Its the other cases, don, okay, that we need to have the same amount of courage about as Law Enforcement officials to stand up. And when you see something wrong to do just what were doing right now. Mmhmm. Where it may not be as easy to make that determination, but we need to make sure we join communities such as what were seeing here tonight. Yeah, that was chief ter ransom monaghan. My only concern about that was the lack of social distancing. I love the hug. Were still in the covid era. I wish they were wearing masks, maybe some gloves and maybe an arm bump or something. I love what happened there. That was a great moment. Jonathan, i want to bring you in. Secret service says their number one priority, thats to protect the president. What kind of tough situation are they in now . The president was talking about how vicious dogs and weapons they koud usen protestors. Is that right . Listen, that is politicizing the protection of the president. Thats not helpful. In moments of a crisis and peace, they are charged with protecting the president and the first family and other political leaders. That type of rhetoric makes their job more challenging. Because it increases the throea profile ooft president. His rhetoric draws a heir of a lot of people. They protest. The one thing is fact the secret Service Working with Law Enforcement partners such as the u. S. Park police and washington d. C. Have a coordinated effort to deal with the political protests part of democratic process. Every day. Unfortunately what we have seen over the last 72 hours is the strain being put upon the Law Enforcement not only at the white house, but across the United States. All right. Thank you. I appreciate it. Well see you soon. You all stay safe. Just before we were looking at pictures at san francisco. Oakland. Images in l. A. You can see there members of the i believe the national guard. Correct me if im wrong. My television is small here in the studio. This is oakland, california. We saw some folks running earlier and the throwing of objects. On this particular corner we see Law Enforcement it pappears to e under control. Many cities are under curfew orders. Well see if protestors follow the orders as we continue on tonight. New york curfew starting in a few minutes. Well go live, next chl. Home instead has helped seniors stay home. Now, staying home isnt just staying in the place they love. Its staying safe. Home instead. To us, its personal. Dont bring that mess around ithere, evan afe. Whoo dont do it. Dont you dare. I dont think so [ sighs ] its okay, big fella. Were gonna get through this together. [ baseball bat cracks ] nice rip, robbie. Raaah when you bundle home and Auto Insurance through progressive, you get more than just a big discount. Im going to need you to leave. You get relentless protection. [ baseball bat cracks ] at mercedesbenz, nothing service will do. Class thats why were expanding your range of choices. 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Hold on. Jason carol, we have something going on where he is. Pardon me, viewers. This is happening during breaking news. In brooklyn, where are you . At this point this crowd of nearly 1,000 people hitting back to the barkley center. At 11 00 that curfew is expected to kick in. Everyone is supposed to be home. Unless essential. We have been talking to people saying theyre not going home. As you can see from the number of people behind me, a thousand people. So in talking to some of the protestors i say what are you doing going forward. Theyll wait to see what the Police Reaction is. And based on that that will determine how they proceed going further. Were a few minutes away from 11 00. When that curfew kicks in. Still we have thousands of people in the streets here in brooklyn. Heading over to the bar clay center. Were waiting to see. Your shot is a little fuzzy. From the sounds of it, there are a lot of people there. How many people do you think are in the protest . I would say from our estimate, id say about a thousand people. Several hundred to 1,000 people. Still out here in the streets. Heading to the center at this point. Again, i keep trying new york. Its supposed to kick in at 11 00. The question then becomes whats going to happen to all the people still out in the street . When i spoke to a number of the folks here part of the demonstration, they say its been peaceful. They want it it continue to be peaceful. Then you hear chants a short while ago people say basically, f the curfew. Now that the cur few how many minutes . One minute. Well keep this shot up. Stay with us. Well talk to you and well stay with you now. Were coming up on just about 30 seconds left for curfew. We have no idea whats going to happen if they start arresting people and continue to allow them to protest. Whats going to go on. Is this march peaceful . Look, i would say there are still trying to move out of the way, about 1,000 people fl the Vantage Point in the streets here. What theyre doing is saying they want to keep demonstrating through the curfew. You have a lot of people here saying thats what theyre going to do. But you have a number of folks who shea we want it to remain a peaceful demonstration. We dont want the message to get lost. Its 11 00. If youre essential you are allowed to be out. If you are nonessential youre supposed to be home. You have pokfolks not obeying curfew and continuing to march. Standby, everyone. It is the top of the hour. 11 00 p. M. In new york city where i am. And a curfew is in effect in new york city. You can see people are still out in force. Saying they are going to defy