Image source, Getty Images

With Washington DC's curfew officially in place, Trump crossed Lafayette Square park outside the White House on foot to visit the nearby St John's Church.

He ended his statement to the nation saying: "Now I'm going to pay my respects to a very, very special place."

Before Trump spoke, armed officers in riot gear pushed protesters out of the park and several blocks away.

TV camera showed Trump walking through the park, wearing no mask to guard against the coronavirus.

St John's Episcopal Church has been attended by every US president since James Madison in 1816.

Its parish hall suffered a suspected arson attack on Sunday night, but the basement fire was quickly extinguished with only minor damage.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Trump says what happened last night in Washington DC was a “disgrace”.

The curfew tonight will “strictly enforced”, he warns.

Any rulebreakers will be arrested, detained and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, he continues.

Organisers of the “terror” will face severe criminal penalties and lengthy sentences in jail, he says, mentioning Antifa.

“As we speak, I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults and the wanton destruction of property.”

"These are not acts of peaceful protest," says Trump. "These are acts of domestic terror."

"The destruction of innocent life and the spilling of innocent blood is an offence to humanity and a crime against God."

"Healing not hatred. Justice not chaos. This is our mission and we will succeed 100 percent. We will succeed. Our country always wins," Trump continues.

"If malice or violence reigns then none of us are free," he says, adding that America's "best days lie ahead".

His statement has now concluded. TV cameras have cut back to scenes of protesters clashing with police only hundreds of yard away.

Image source, Getty Images

"All Americans were rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd," says Trump, promising "he will not have died in vain".

But Trump says that Floyd's memory must not be “drowned out by an angry mob”.

"I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protests," he continues.

"But in recent days our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, Antifa and others."

"A number of state and local governments have failed to take necessary action to safeguard their residents," he adds.

Earlier today, Trump told governors during a phone call that they were "weak" and were being laughed at by the world because of their response to protests.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump says he will mobilie all available federal resources, civilian and military, to stop rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults and wanton destruction of property and protect the rights of law-abiding Americans.

He says: "We are ending the riots and lawlessness that have spread throughout the country."

Trump has just begun speaking from the Rose Garden. He begins by saying:

"My first and highest duty as president is to defend our great country and the American people.

"I swore an oath to uphold the laws of our nation and that is what I will do."

Image source, Getty Images

A felony prosecutor from Broward County in Southern Florida has been fired after she called protesters "animals" on Facebook.

Amy Bloom posted and quickly deleted: "When will people learn that their criminal acts and obnoxious protesting actually gets you nowhere? Act civilized and maybe things will change. I’ve never seen such animals except at the zoo.”

The State Attorney’s Office - which oversees the city of Fort Lauderdale - confirmed the firing in a statement calling her views “entirely inconsistent” with its “ideals and principles”.

Bloom, who worked for the prosecutor's office for eight years, later took to Facebook, posting: "I made a post and realized that it could be misinterpreted, so I deleted it within seconds. I believe in justice for all and that ALL lives matter."

US military police have just advanced towards protesters and news cameras outside the White House, minutes before Trump is due to address the nation from the Rose Garden.

Officers in riot gear marched up to the barricades at the northern edge of Lafayette Park, as protesters stood eye-to-eye chanting "you are the threat" and "don't shoot".

Image source, Getty Images

As dusk gathers on the US east coast, hundreds of protesters have come out before the Capitol in Washington DC and other cities are bracing for another night of demonstrations.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, dozens have already been arrested, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, external. Police also appeared to fire tear gas into a crowd of thousands who have blocked a highway.

Thousands of demonstrators are also marching in Brooklyn, New York, seen in photographs and videos shared on Twitter by journalist Noah Hurowitz, external.

Crowds are also out in Baltimore and Raleigh.

It remains to be seen whether protesters will obey curfew orders in place in cities across the US, some of which are due to begin by 19:00.

A large crowd of protesters is faced on the other side by active-duty US military troops, the US National Guard, Secret Service agents and Washington DC police outside the White House right now as the president prepares to address the nation.

Two striking images from Reuters news agency capture the scene.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

A large group of protesters has formed outside the White House, less than an hour before the city's curfew is set to go into effect.

They are chanting "black lives matter", minutes before Trump is due to give a statement from the White House Rose Garden.

Attorney General Bill Barr has been seen by news cameras standing in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, accompanied by law enforcement officers.

The White House has just announced that the president will address the nation in 10 minutes' time.

It comes as White House aides have debated whether Trump should give a speech, as the nation braces for its seventh consecutive day of protests.

The death of African-American man George Floyd in police custody has sparked protests across the US - and in the UK as well.

The BBC's Shamaan Freeman-Powell spoke to black Britons to find out how the shocking death has affected them.

A curfew that has been in place since Saturday has been lifted for Monday night in Miami, Florida. But nearby Miami-Dade County continues to have a nightly curfew in place.

Minneapolis, Minnesota - where protests first kicked off - has seen its curfew hours reduced. The governor said on Monday that "you can feel the optimism coming back" to the community.

Washington DC, where local elections are due to be held on Tuesday, has extended its curfew and moved up the start to 19:00 local time. Voters there can go to the polling places before curfew again hits at the same time tomorrow.

New York City will begin its curfew tonight, after looters ransacked downtown Manhattan businesses on Sunday night and early Monday morning. The police presence will be double during the curfew times of 23:00 to 05:00, officials say.

The city of Philadelphia also extended its curfew for a third night to 18:00 local time after a weekend of chaos.

Residents of Los Angeles County in California must remain in their homes from 18:00 to 06:00, but some districts in the city of Santa Monica were under curfew beginning at 13:00 local time, with all residents asked to remain indoors after 16:00 local.

The state of Arizona was put on lockdown yesterday by the governor, who declared that the shutdown would continue for a week.

Discussing the widespread unrest, President Trump today told state governors they needed "have total domination" against those he called "terrorists" and "the radical left".

Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas drew the president's praise when he tweeted: "let's see how tough these Antifa terrorists are when they're facing off with the 101st Airborne Division".

But others, including Republican Senator John Thune said the president should project "empathy and humility and respect" in his tone.

The president has received scathing criticism from Democrats.

Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts offered some of the sharpest rebuke for the president, calling Trump "scum" who was "fueling racist hate and violence".

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer also criticised Trump, saying his policies have worsened racial divisions and that he "struggles to summon even an ounce of humanity in this time of turmoil".

Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer accused the president of "repeatedly and viciously attack[ing] governors" during the call, leaked to media earlier this morning.

Terrence Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, rebuked protest troublemakers for "messing up my community" as he stood at the site where his late brother died last week.

The chief of Louisville Metro Police in Kentucky, has been fired hours after city police and the National Guard shot into a crowd, killing the owner of a nearby business.

Mayor Greg Fischer said officers and troops involved in the shooting did not wear or failed to activate body cameras. “This type of institutional failure will not be tolerated,” he said, dismissing the police chief.

Officials said that early on Monday morning, a group of law enforcement officers were trying to disperse a large crowd outside Dino's Food Mart hours after a curfew had come into effect.

Officials said the police were fired upon, forcing them to return fire. Some activists have questioned whether the group were protesters or customers, the Courier-Journal reports.

David McAtee, the owner of adjacent business Ya-Ya's BBQ, was killed. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has called on the state police to investigate his death.

More than 12 hours after his death, McAtee's body remained at the scene as crowds of protesters and onlookers gathered around police wearing riot gear.

Family lawyer Benjamin Crump says George Floyd's funeral will take place on 9 June, in Houston, Texas, where his family lives.

Crump said there would be a memorial service on Thursday in Minneapolis, another in North Carolina - where he was born - on Saturday, and a public viewing in Houston on 8 June ahead of the burial.

A fundraiser to cover funeral expenses, grief counseling, court costs and education for Floyd's children has already reached over $7.6m (£6m).