President Donald Trump has declared war on peaceful protests, doubling down Monday night with military helicopters buzzing a crowd of protesters after soldiers pepper sprayed them and shot them with rubber bullets.
It was a shocking scene ... first, as Trump was delivering his law-and-order speech -- preparing for his bizarre walk across the street from The White House -- the military outside the gates began attacking the crowd. It was violent and swift, and mind it, this was BEFORE the D.C. curfew went into effect.
Trump then walked across the street to St. John's Episcopal Church, which was partially set on fire the night before. He stood there with a bible ... and there's not much doubt why he did it. Trump was reportedly ticked off when reports surfaced he was taken to a bunker for his safety over the weekend.
The bishop of the church is appalled at Trump's stunt, saying it's antithetical to the bible.
As for the military helicopters ... they were flying so low the rotors were kicking up dirt, which made the crowd disperse. This is a tactic usually used by military jets in war zones.
BTW ... as for Trump's claim he can call in the military to cities and states where there's violence. No, he can't. He needs the permission of the governors, and some have already said no thank you.