Excessive force clearing the area for the president to walk out of the white houses gates unannounced across Lafayette Park and stage a photoop holding a bible in front of historic st. Johns church boarded up after being vandalized the night before. Leaders of the church and Episcopal Diocese have no notice of his decision to use the church as a backdrop for a political statement. He cdidnt come to church to pray or offer condolences to those grieving. He didnt come to commit to healing our nation. All of the things that welly you would expect and long for from the highest leader in the land. That was episcopal Bishop Marianne Budde telling craig melvin earlier about the president s rivals speaking out today in philadelphia. A photoop at one of the most Historic Churches in the country, or at least in washington, d. C. We can be forgiven for believing the president is more interested in power than in principle. The president held up the bible of st. Johns church yesterday. I just wish he opened it once in a while. Mean mile in new york city looters vandalized stores from macys on Herald Square to the bronx. And protesters were peaceful after an impassioned plea from floyds younger brother. And the autopsy reporting floyds death was homicide from asphyxiation. And they released their private autopsy saying it was caused not only by one officers knee but two others who were blocking George Floyds ability to breathe by compressing his lungs from his back. The family demanding murder charges against all of the others as well. Joining me now, nbc White House Correspondent and weekend today cohost, kristen welker. Figliuzzi, the former assistant of the Fbi Counterintelligence Division and staffer to leon panetta from the cia. Kristen, lets talk about the president , the decision first of all to say hes mobilizing the military, which is controversial and ambiguous legally, and his decision to do that walkabout. You were right there. As announced he went out from the gates at lafayette the park and that had been cleared of protesters about a half hour earlier with some controversial moves as far as the mayor is concerned today. Andrea, rur right. It was a remarkable split screen and series of events. First we were in the rose garden as President Trump declared himself the law and order president and threatened to dispatch the military to citizens across the country if governors didnt crackdown and get tougher and deploy the National Guard to prevent protesters from becoming violent. As he was uttering those words, you could hear authorities clearing out protesters in Lafayette Park, which is just across from the white house. And then the president making that unannounced trip to st. Johns church, that Historic Church here in washington, d. C. , holding up a bible and not answering our questions, andrea. I tried to ask him a number of questions about his threat to potentially deploy the military. He would not answer those questions. Now, we spoke to a number of sources close to the white house, close to the president , who say part of his decision to do that, andrea, was driven out of frustration by headlines, including the one we reported, initially reported by the new york times, that the president was taken to an bunker underneath the white house on friday when protests got out of hand. Of course, he was only there for a short period of time according to a white house official but he was growing increasingly frustrated by this image and this narrative that he was essentially out of sight and out of view during this critical moment. The white house says look, the protesters outside of the white house were given three separate warnings they would need to clear out ahead of that 7 00 p. M. Curfew, andrea, but we also spoke to some protesters who say they never heard those warnings, andrea. In fact, some of our correspondents who were right there said they did not here it. Garrett haake was there. He did not hear any warnings as well. Jeremy bash, chief of staff at the pentagon and cia, the defense secretary esper, general millie, both publicly supporting the president to the general flanking him as he walked in front of the park to the church. And tell us about the legal issues here, because there is a law from 1978 saying there shouldnt be the use of force but there are governors asking for it, the use of the military before, rodney king was one notable and president eisenhower, when he send the troops to little rock. Yes. First of all, andrea, i think we can all agree militarystyle Police Tactics like purr cussive grenades and tear gas should never be used to get the president to a photoop. Thats point one. When can military force be used on domestic soil . As you referenced, theres a longstanding tradition, longstanding law on the books that says the military cannot be used to force the law domestically except in very limited circumstances. One of those circumstances may be if theres an insurrection or support local Law Enforcement. But in our history, andrea, thats only been done in two condition texts. Number one is when requested by a governor, and that did happen for example in 1992 during the los angeles riots. Or second, by president kennedy, president eisenhower, when it wasnt requested by a governor but done to enforce a constitutional right by africanamericans to attend desegregated schools in the south. Its never been used and i dont think it should ever be used to to enforce domestic law unilaterally against the will of a governor, particularly to move on peaceful protests. That is an entirely inappropriate use of department of defense resources. Frank figliuzzi, i wanted to ask you about i fringe groups, the groups who have been violent and have certainly cast a big shadow over the peaceful protests. There was overnight i believe twitter taking down some white supremacist groups who were posing online as antifa and other Left Wing Groups. Yet the attorney general and president are focusing until yesterday the president did say and other groups, but focusing all of their other statements specifically on the left wing. Yeah, we are seeing a politicalization of protests by the white house and the attorney general at precisely the time Law Enforcement needs to speak the truth to us, the public, about what theyre seeing on the ground. My Law Enforcement sources are saying theyre challenge is made more complex by the fact theyre feeling pressure, pressure to arrest not only anyone committing violence but perhaps focus their efforts only on certain groups when in reality on the ground, theyre seeing the whole spectrum, andrea, from left to far right and particularly theyre concerned about the dangerous global Anarchist Movement who now is being confirmed as in certain cities around the country. One of the concerns that was articulated to me was if they round up these most dangerous folks in groups and present them for prosecution, will washington receive that warmly if theyre the wrong group or not the Left Wing Group that theyve been pointing to . So its a complex job. They dont have all of the tools in their toolbox as they say would against International Terrorist groups so theyve got a very tough time on their hands, particularly as you just said, when the groups are pretend be to be each other. So social media is being weaponized by these groups to essentially trick the public and perhaps even the administration into whos doing this. We know this happened in 2016 from foreign actors as well but now it could be foreign as well as domestic players. The i want to ask jeremy, we had the chairman of the joint chiefs in uniform on the streets of d. C. Last night. The mayor said today aside from federal properties, which are federally guarded, monuments and the like, on the streets of the city she does not want guncarrying National Guard. Although the National Guard is being used to support the d. C. Police. And she does not want the articled military. Let me ask you about that. How quickly is it for the chairman of the joint chiefs to be walking in uniform on the streets of d. C. In such a situation . I think there are many problematic symbols. First of all, i think it should be noted the chairman is not in the chain of command. His role is as a military adviser to the president and secretary of defense. Hes not going to be in charge or have a command role of anything with respect to a military operation. If the president wanted to utilize the resources of the department of defense, again, done in concert with a governor, the president would reach out to the secretary of defense and go to the commanding general of u. S. Northern command, which is responsible for the homeland continental United States. Theres really no role for a chairman here, and i think more broadly, the military can be used to support civil authorities. Its been done in the context of hurricanes, of tornadoes, certainly during coronavirus to help build mobile medical centers but to use the military in this way when the country is so polarized and so disk ided, yes, of course, theres a lot of activity on the streets, vandalism, looting, setting fires that requires a strong and effective Law Enforcement response. But weve got a very highly capable federal Law Enforcement set of organizations as well as state and local authorities that i think should be our first, second and third lines of defense. Jeremy bash, kristen welker, frank figliuzzi, thank you for starting us off today. Meanwhile at dawn here in washington, dozens of protesters were leaving the home of one resident, who sheltered more than 60 peaceful demonstrators overnight to protect them from being arrested. They said they were trapped between two streets as protesters were settling in with nowhere to go. Some were arrested and others did shelter inside this Good Samaritans home they say after being pepper sprayed. Joining me now is raul dubet, who sheltered the protesters in his home last night. Tell us what happened. Andrea, thank you for telling the story of the 70plus souls seeking shelter in my house. It was a peaceful street i lived on for years. Right outside my house, about five houses down, there were about 40 Police Officers waiting for Peaceful Protesters that were just walking down swan street. They pinned them in. They had nowhere to go. I was standing on my steps. A couple people sat on the steps, asked if they could sit sit on the steps . I said sure. Couple asked to plug in their cell phone, i said no problem, a few to use the bathroom, no problem. A few asked if they could escape through the aalley because they panned in and wanted to head north of Lafayette Park. I walked them to the back. And i came outside and was on my stoop in 15 seconds and absolute mayhem and horror broke out. I heard big bang, screaming, pepper spray started flying. My eyes were burning. I started yelling get in the house. There was a sense of human tsunami coming down the street and Police Beating on people putting faces down on cement. It was happening really fast. I just kept the door open and kids, 20yearolds, 30yearolds,ing coughing, running up for about ten minutes, just streaming into the house as fast as they could until the police lined past my front door and there were no more protesters in the wake and i rushed in the house and locked door. They started spraying pepper spray into the windows. This is the first time i am seeing these videos showing up now now. Its gutwrenching this is happening. Inside for an hour and a half, people are crying. Theyre throwing milk on their eyes and helping each other and giving each other medical care and the police are taunting them outside. Half an hour and a half and day lifted and air deteriorated of the pepper spray, i saw strangers who didnt know each other at all, oppressed, marchly peacefully, all they were seeing 15 seconds before mayhem broke out season the force of the authorities came down was let us through. Let us through. It was the last video i took and 15 seconds later, my america changed. Let me ask you, just because the police chief raised this issue, were they out after curfew . Was that the issue . Or were they blocked in and couldnt get home . From your perspective at least, from what you know happened. I know what happened. I was talking to people throughout the house on the third floor, bathroom, kitchen 6789 i was asking where they were coming from, how they gotten here with 12, 13 hours to kill. They were up on 14th and w, in this area is much more north from my house right now. They were forced back down on to swan, which was one way. It was a tactical move. Then they followed them and pushed them into a Police Barricade waiting on the other corner of swan. As soon as that block filled, the police unleashed the swell. Let me ask you, i saw them coming out at dawn, our local nbc stations were there. How did you take care of folks overnight in your home . You know, everyone took care of each other. Everyone grabbed their piece of Square Footage on a hard wood floors, some spots wet with milk, and they all just took care of each other. They helped clean. We ordered pizza. Were sharing stories. Talking about why they were protesting. Intimate stories. A young 22yearold who has issues with his barenparents an a broken relationship with them and working on it. We got to know each other really well. It was a beautiful display of these souls and brave souls that came together in a time that is unimaginable. Andrea, i wish i can put it in words right now. Its too fresh and more importantly one of the last things i said to them as were leaving out of the house, coordinate efforts to get them out through the back alley and front door was talk to people. What has happened is traumatic. Do not keep it inside. Were here for each other and we are our vulnerabilities. It makes us who we are. You know what happened after that first hour and a half of pure brutality and terror was something beautiful. Neighbors started coming and dropping off food, leaving notes. Lawyers were calling and offering up advice. The local pizza place, helping to get pizza through a secret alleyway, which was unbelievable, we all kind of came on board when the police were trying to bait us to come outside to arrest these 70plus people. A slice of life during the protests in the midst of a pandemic. We should note in a big city. Thank you very much, raul. Thank you for talking to us today. Thank you for having me. Coming up peaceful protests and despite a curfew, more looting. The mayor is joining me next. And religious leaders are outraged over the president s visit to st. Johns church yesterday. The bishop and dr. James martin joins me later this hour. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports. A lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesnt get everything clean. 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You know you can tell me. Im ok. Oh, i trained her in the car. Shes not gonna break. [ laughs ] protesters were out across Los Angeles County on monday marching from hollywood to van nuys while President Trump threatened to invoke the 1807 insurrection act, last used by president george h. W. Bush in 1992 during the l. A. Riots sparked by the beating of rodney king by four l. A. Police officers. In that case, californias governor had indeed invited the president s action. Los angeles mayor Eric Garcetti joins me now. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Thank you very much for being with us. First, you responded to a threat to push military action on any authorities whether they want it or not. We dont want it. We dont need it. And its the wrong move. This is a moment of leadership that is to unite us, not to inflame us. To give us the common words that say not only, of course, do you need to restore peace but we understand the underlying conditions that have led to people going to the streets and exercising their First Amendment rights. Weve got to separate these two things. Illegal acts are illegal acts. Los angeles had a much better night last night. So many incredible stories of police and protesters coordinating. Police leadership taking a knee with protesters, walking with folks. While at the same time we went after a second group of people separate that are looting and seeking to take advantage. You can hold both of those but the president seems to want to merge the two together and pose upon us a militaristic solution, which is part of the problem. We can at the local level listen, get better and restore the peace simultaneously. We do not need it. We do not want it. Do you have a handle on who these people are, who are the agitators who are transforming the peaceful protests . Lets be clear, there are two different groups. Looters are looters. These are people who are breaking the law