President Donald Trump has threatened White House protesters with the "most vicious dogs" and "most ominous weapons" as riots sparked by the George Floyd killing spread across the US.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the White House on Saturday in one of the worst nights of civil unrest the US has seen in decades.
Mr Trump, who watched from inside during the demonstrations, said people would have been "badly hurt" if they breached the White House security fence.
"Big crowd, professionally organised, but nobody came close to breaching the fence," he wrote on Twitter.
Members of the US Secret Service gather at the White House on Saturday as protests flared over George Floyd's death. Source: AP
"If they had they would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen."
Minnesota's governor called up more national guard troops Saturday and warned they would "decimate" rioters after a fresh night of violence in Minneapolis overwhelmed law enforcement and protests against police brutality spread across America.
Officials in more than a dozen cities braced for more unrest as the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police hands this week sparked outrage over police mistreatment of African Americans.
It was one of the worst nights of civil unrest in the United States in decades.
Governor Tim Walz said he was mobilising the entire 13,000-strong Minnesota National Guard to deal with the rioters who have looted shops and set fires in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, a move not taken since World War II.
He also said he had spoken with the Pentagon on drawing on US military resources for peacekeeping, and The New York Times reported that, at Mr Trump's bidding, military police were being put on notice for possible mobilisation, a step not taken in decades.
Mr Walz said he would continue to support peaceful protests during the day as members of the African American community memorialised Floyd, whose death on Monday was seen on a horrifying cellphone video around the world.
But Mr Walz alleged that protesters staying out past the 8 pm curfew and wreaking "wanton destruction" of the city had nothing to do with Floyd.
"Our expectation is to have the curfew in place. Our expectation is to restore order," Mr Walz said.
