'Law and Order' President Pledges to Stop Looting and Anarchy as 4 Officers Shot, SUV Driven into Police

Declaring himself "the president of law and order," President Trump has now issued a heads up: he's ready to send in military troops if the nation's governors don't act to quell the violence that has rocked America's cities.

Demonstrations against the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody have turned violent across the country, with people breaking into businesses and stealing, smashing car windows, and setting buildings on fire.

Police officers were targeted. In St. Louis, four police officers were shot, and another was hit in Las Vegas. In Buffalo, New York, an SUV drove into a crowd of police. 

In Philadelphia, counter-protesters armed with golf clubs, baseball bats, and even hatchets faced off against the rioters.  

And across the country, business owners have had to defend their property themselves. 

President Trump said Monday night he's mobilizing all civilian and military forces to end nationwide looting and property destruction.

"The biggest victims of the rioting are peace loving citizens in our poorest communities," Trump said. "And as their president, I will fight to keep them safe. I will fight to protect you. I am your president of law and order."

And in an iconic moment, the president walked across Lafayette Square park and held up a Bible outside historic St. John's church, which was set on fire Sunday night.

The move drew condemnation because police cleared Lafayette Park of protestors before the trip. The Episcopal bishop who oversees the church also criticized the president's action. 

Some Democratic governors are resisting the president's threat to deploy the US military unless they dispatch National Guard to stop the violence. 

But President Trump could use something called The Insurrection Act to do it.  

Trump 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 United States military and quickly solve the problem for them." 

In Minneapolis, at the site where George Floyd took his last breath, his brother Terence demanded for the violence stop. He told a crowd by megaphone, "That's not going to bring my brother back at all."

The results from two autopsies find Floyd's death was a homicide, but they differ on the cause. 

The county medical examiner says he died from a heart attack, complicated by being under restraint. 

But experts hired by Floyd's family say he died of "asphyxiation from sustained pressure."

In an effort to end racial violence, the One Race Movement, a group of Christian pastors held an outdoor press conference in Atlanta to bring a message of hope. 

Bishop Garland Hunt of The Father's House told CBN News, "We just believe the church, particularly the pastors have to come in as a group where we literally are reconciled... black and white, Asian and Hispanic...we want to speak peace to our cities, speak love to our cities."

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