President Donald Trump has threatened to send in the military to quell growing civil unrest in the US over the death of a black man in police custody.
He said if cities and states failed to control the protests and "defend their residents" he would deploy the army and "quickly solve the problem for them".
Protests over the death of George Floyd have escalated over the past week.
Four police meanwhile have been shot and injured in Missouri, in what the force says is a continuing incident.
Hours earlier, in Washington DC, police cleared protesters from a nearby park with tear gas and rubber bullets as Mr Trump spoke at the White House.
The president then crossed the park and posed next to a damaged church, provoking widespread criticism from those who accused him of aggressively targeting the peaceful demonstrators in aid of a photo opportunity.
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