Trey Gowdy: The government should maintain public safety by any means necessary

This is a rush transcript from "The Story with Martha MacCallum," June 2, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Hey, there Bret, good evening to you. Good evening, everybody.

So it's not good, right? Our country is being torn at the seams. President's under pressure to protect citizens and their property. As state and local leaders are grappling for answers, in some cases they appear paralyzed, while their cities and their communities get ransacked.

Good evening, everybody. I'm Martha MacCallum and this is THE STORY. America is not itself tonight. It is not freedom to be stuck in your home, first by a virus, then by unemployment and despair and now by fear of violence.

The death of George Floyd was tragic and it was evil. Also the case with the death of Federal officer Dave Patrick Underwood in Oakland, also tragic, also evil. Here's some more examples that we're seeing.

An officer in New York City hit by the driver of a getaway vehicle, who then sped off. We understand the officer is in stable condition tonight. For that he and his fellow officers got to hear Governor Cuomo tell the NYPD that they had failed to do their job and that it was a disgrace. He said the same thing about the New York Mayor, saying that he, "underestimates the problem," that may be, we'll talk more about that.

And in St. Louis, four officers were shot last night. In Minneapolis, though, one example, where the curfew and the National Guard seemed to be working, allowing peaceful protests, and then they kept the peace after dark, which is the goal all across the country.

So our nation's National Guard has gone in two short weeks from supporting nursing homes after an abject failure to protect them. Now they are patrolling our streets. Over 20,000 now activated to stop the violence and more are ready.

Now the President has asked to mobilize the military if they're needed. That would mean invoking a thing called the Insurrection Act. That would be a move not seen since 1992. All of this is happening on what we would be discussing, primarily, as one of the biggest primary voting days of the year, during what is sure now to be the most intense electoral period that the nation has seen probably since 1968.

That was when similar riots, torch the cities. Richard Nixon was running back then as a law and order candidate in the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy that spring. Nixon ran against the incumbent Vice President, also a former U.S. Senator, Hubert Humphrey from Minnesota, all of that sounds eerily familiar.

Tonight. this evening, we will speak with Ben Carson, the HUD Secretary. We'll get his reaction to the President's call for military back up, and also to the race rage that is burning in America. Tonight, also joining me, Juan Williams, Mark Thiessen, and Captain Ron Johnson. Trey Gowdy is on deck on the clash over the potential use of the United States military.

But first, we start with White House Correspondent Kevin Corke, live in Washington, not far from Lafayette Square Park where we saw so much activity last night and the President. Kevin is in our nation's capital again this evening. Hi, Kevin.

KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Evening, Martha. As you can imagine, you figured we have a crowd out here beyond the curfew and we have quite the crowd beyond the curfew here in the nation's capital. You've heard chants of "no justice, no peace," "justice for George Floyd" and "forget your curfew," only they didn't use the word forget.

Thus far it has been mostly peaceful, but as the curfew now happens at the top of the hour, questions remain, what will law enforcement do? If last night is any template, they will be moving this crowd eventually, right back up 16th Street. Thus far it hasn't happened.

We are in just outside of Lafayette Park. As you can just see there Sanford is taking a look at the crowd here. It is a massive crowd. I walked in from Logan Circle. And about 200 or 300 people were walking as I was walking to work, and it looks like not many have left. To be honest with you, I'd say there are several hundred if not several thousand here. I don't have a decent headcount. It's difficult to see. But as you can see a sea of humanity.

I do want to mention one thing that is different from the time that we spent here last night, Martha. Over here back at the park, you can see a fence has been erected. It's a chain link fence black. It runs for the most part all along the park. It's about eight and a half feet high, and that's meant to keep protesters, demonstrators, rioters, according to some, out of the park. We'll see if that continues to be the case after nightfall. Martha back to you.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Kevin, we're looking at that fence. So just to give people - to orient viewers who might not be as familiar with it. Just on the other side of that fence is the beginning of the White House property, correct?

CORKE: That is correct. You've got a fence actually in the north end of the park. The White House itself is on the other end of the park. So you're looking at maybe 100 yards from where we are to Pennsylvania Avenue, which of course is the street that separates the park and the actual White House grounds. Martha.

MACCALLUM: Yes, they've essentially expanded that perimeter around the White House considerably with that fence. Thank you very much, Kevin Corke who's been on this every night since this has begun.

I want to bring in now the former House Oversight Committee Chairman and former Federal Prosecutor, Trey Gowdy, is also Fox News Contributor. Trey, good to see you tonight. Thanks for being here. Your thoughts as we look at this enormous crowd that is gathering not far from the white house tonight.

TREY GOWDY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Martha, I'm a simple minded guy. Public safety is the preeminent function of government, period. And I say that for two reasons. If you look at the preamble to our foundational document, well before the Articles, it talks about justice - establishing justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, I wonder what that means, and then providing for the common defense.

So in from the country's inception, public safety has been the preeminent function of government. And the more practical explanation is, there's not a right you have that is of any consequence, if you are living in fear.

If you - you can have all the liberty in the world theoretically, but if you're afraid to leave your house, if you're afraid to go to public places, because of a small subset of our fellow citizens who are lawless, then what good is any liberty? So public - I'm going to quote Malcolm X, which I usually don't get a chance to do very often, "by any means necessary." That's how you keep the public safety.

MACCALLUM: I just want to point out on the right hand side of your screen, you see the crowd gathered and the building that you see in the corner of that is St. John's Church. We spoke with the rector last night, that's exactly the spot where President Trump was last evening.

A lot of pushback, Trey, about what happened to the crowd there. A lot of conflicting reports. The park - police now saying that there was no tear gas use. You have reporters who were on the scene who say that they saw, I think, it was smoke bombs in some cases that were used.

But the White House says that those folks were asked to move back at least three times and that when they did not take that opportunity, then they were pushed back. What do you think about that whole situation and that walk that we witnessed by the President last night which has been met with some mixed reviews as well?

GOWDY: I think we'd all be better off if we followed the teachings of Christ and did not involve him in in partisan politics. I'm almost positive. He wasn't in America. He's not a Republican or a Democrat. So if you want to do that something that honors the Bible and honors church, then follow the teachings of Christ. And if we all did that, be a blessed or the peacemakers.

It's tough to run a police department turning your other cheek, but it's good advice for us as we interact with our fellow citizens.

MACCALLUM: Are you saying that the President was not a peacemaker in that situation? Are you talking about the scuffle between the people outside and the police?

GOWDY: I'm just talking about our country in general. I am really reluctant to pick a verse here, there and yonder to try to support a political position. If you're going to follow the teachings of Christ, follow all of them. Don't pick and choose the ones that are most helpful to you on that particular occasion.

MACCALLUM: All right, let me ask you a little bit about this question of U.S. military deployment, potentially, and invoking the Insurrection Act, which a lot of presidents have actually done at different junctures over the years.

Here is a little bit of sound about back and forth from Senator Chuck Schumer, and then from your South Carolina colleague from Senator Lindsey Graham. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D-NY): The administration is using the military as a tool to intimidate American citizens. And the Department of Defense IG must immediately launch an investigation--

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): That's not the purpose of our military. Our military is designed to protect us from enemies of the nation. When you have domestic problems they can be used, but as a last resort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Your thoughts?

GOWDY: Well, it wouldn't be a last resort. But I think we used our military to help Ebola victims in Africa. So if we can send our military to help rebuild other civilizations and protect other people, it should be a last resort.

But when the police are overwhelmed in your calling in the National Guard, public safety is the preeminent function of government. By any means necessary it must be preserved. I wish the military weren't required, but if they are, bringing them in.

MACCALLUM: Yes, just watching somebody climb up on the street corner there and tear down the 16th Street sign right near St. John's Church where this is focus this evening. Trey Gowdy, always good to see you, sir. Thank you very much.

GOWDY: Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

MACCALLUM: So tragic side of this story has been the law enforcement officers coming under physical attack and in some cases being killed over the past several days, while trying to protect those they serve.

Captain Ron Johnson was in charge of defusing the violence in Ferguson, Missouri six years ago. He joins me with a look at what is playing out now and I look back as well. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: So more than 5,000 people have been arrested in the week following George Floyd's death. As we look at places from all around the country here in America, braces for night eighth of the protests tonight. In many cities, anger is directed at the officers called upon to keep the peace there.

Several of them were brutal attacked overnight, including one in Las Vegas who is now fighting for his life. In moments we will be joined by Captain Ron Johnson, who led the response to the Ferguson riots back in 2014. But first to Chief Breaking News Correspondent with the latest this evening Trace Gallagher. Hello, Trace.

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CHIEF BREAKING NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martha. Let's begin in the Bronx where police were outnumbered by looters. And when a New York police officer tried to contain a suspect, you could watch and see two men one after the other grab an unknown object and use it to pummel the officer. And when the officer finally got up, he was clearly dazed and even briefly pulled out his gun. You can also hear audio of a man using anti-police slang.

In Buffalo, New York an SUV carrying two people who had been shot at by police, then use the vehicle to plow through a group of both state and local police. At least two police officers were hit and one appeared to go under a tire, though, we're told that all of them are OK.

In St. Louis, near the city's main police precinct, a protest turned violent which led to a clash with police and then four St. Louis police officers were shot. All of them suffered non-life threatening injuries, and suspects were taken into custody in that event.

In Las Vegas, there were two protests related shootings, one left to suspect dead. The other left the Las Vegas police officer on life support. It happened while police were trying to detain people that had thrown rocks and bottles into a crowd and then a shot rang out and the officer went down. A suspect was quickly apprehended. Here's the sheriff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH LOMBARDO, LAS VEGAS SHERIFF: With these protests, which are leading to riots, one tragedy is only leading to another. What has occurred is utterly, utterly unacceptable. I hope the community sees it that way too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: And in what appears to be a deliberate targeting of uniformed police officers, Dave Patrick Underwood, an African-American officer for the Department of Homeland Security was shot and killed by a drive by shooter near the federal building in Oakland, California. A second Federal officer was shot with him, but survived.

Conversely, in Atlanta six police officers have been charged for using excessive force in the arrest of two college students during a protest this weekend. Body cam footage showed the officers using Tasers on the students as they sat in their car. The students were then dragged out of the car and arrested. So far 117 police officers had been injured during these national protests. Martha?

MACCALLUM: Trace, thank you very much. My next guest led the police response efforts in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 when protests erupted over the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed in a struggle with police officer.

Ron Johnson is a retired Missouri Highway Patrol Captain and author of "13 Days in Ferguson." He's also the founder and CEO of Lodestone Solutions Group. Captain Good to see you tonight.

You know, when you listen to Trace's report about all of these officers who have been injured and also have incidents happening between officers and these protesters that put them in danger. What's going through your mind tonight?

RON JOHNSON, RETIRED MO HIGHWAY PATROL CAPTAIN: Well, it's hurtful. It hurts, you know, having worn the uniform and see the officers out there trying to protect the freedom and the rights of the peaceful protesters, it hurts, but it's troublesome and it's something that we've got to address.

And those officers that are on the front line and those protesters, we have to address that issue and make sure that their officers are safe, as well as the peaceful protesters that are out there for change.

MACCALLUM: You know, in terms of the way people look at the police, this is a new Monmouth poll, and the question is, "Most say police are likely to use excessive force on black individuals." 57 percent say more likely; 33 percent say just as likely. And then when you asked just black Americans in this poll 87 percent say that police officers are more likely to use excessive force if the culprit is black. What are your thoughts when you look at those numbers about the perception of what folks are walking into in some of these environments?

JOHNSON: You know, I think that we have to listen to the people that are involved in that every day, and I think that we have to see there's a truth in what they're saying. And so we have to change. It's a cultural change that we have to change throughout our nation. And I think that we're seeing that more and more.

After Ferguson, I talked about that we needed to make some changes, and we needed to have some in-depth conversation, some real conversations. And most people said, well, we're not ready to have that now.

Well, I would say that now it's a must and we have to be ready to have that conversation, because we are seeing it across our country and not just in one city. People are protesting across this nation, and people have stories that adds some facts and merit to what's going on in our nation when we come to people of color, especially African-American males.

MACCALLUM: So there was an interesting piece by Jason Riley at the Wall Street Journal today, and it's called "Good Policing." That was published yesterday, I believe. "Good policing saves black lives." And it looks at a Harvard study by Roland Fryer that finds that when these police incidents like the George Floyd killing, go viral, and then the investigations begin into the entire department where it happened.

That, unfortunately, the adverse effect is that policing - police activity declines, and then violence increases in those communities. What does that tell you about the impact of these events and how safe it leaves people in those communities after it happens?

JOHNSON: I think sometimes we have - in some cultures we try to rebel and say, "Well, if you're going to hold us accountable for this, we're going to rebel." And that's where leaders have to step in and say that if we start seeing that were officers are rebelling and not doing their job, well, then they need not have that job anymore. And we need to bring personnel in that will uphold the badge and uphold that to protect everyone in our communities.

MACCALLUM: But in some cases they fear that they will - that they will be accused of something. That they recoil because they're afraid to go out and protect the community. It appears according to this piece by Jason Riley and this this Harvard study, they said they found that in Ferguson, and then they found it in other places around the country where these, obviously, big and devastating stories have happened.

JOHNSON: Well, I think that become the conversation and becomes something that officers, or departments tend to use. When I first came on as a trooper, my first training officer said that if you're doing the right things 99.9 percent of the time, then it'll be right and people will view it as right. And so and I still believe that. Just because there's been an incident doesn't mean that you have to be afraid to do your job. And many officers after Ferguson continued to do their job the right way without any adversity.

MACCALLUM: Captain Ron Johnson, thank you, sir. Very good to have you with us tonight.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Martha very much.

MACCALLUM: So the AP is reporting that Joe Biden has won Indiana's primary, one of seven states, plus Washington DC where presidential primaries are underway tonight. He's one step closer now to officially clinching the Democratic nomination.

And while the President presses law and order, the former VP is positioning himself as a uniter for the nation. A live report from battleground Pennsylvania. Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: So amid a backdrop of protests and a pandemic, it is primary day today in America. Handful of states, plus Washington DC holding their elections today. And, though, he is already considered the presumptive Democratic candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden hopes to take a step closer to formally clinching that nomination with these contests today. Biden is back to in-person campaigning this week, positioning himself as a healer amid escalating unrest in the nation. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The paid is raw. Pain is real. The President of United States must be part of the solution, not the problem. But this president today is part of the problem and it accelerates.

I won't traffic in fear and division. I won't fan the flames of hate. I'll seek to heal the racial wounds that have long plagued our country, not use them for political gain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Fox News Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich live tonight in Philadelphia where the former vice president made those remarks earlier today. Hi, Jacqui.

JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Martha. Yes, former vice president visiting Philadelphia amid a third day of protests. Former Vice President Joe Biden making it apparent effort to contrast his leadership style with that of President Trump's, and it happens on primary day here in Pennsylvania. And amid all of this unrest, including another night of looting last night, which included two fatal incidents.

Biden pointed to President Trump's photo op at St. John's Church yesterday saying the fact that Trump dispersed peaceful protesters to stage a photo op signifies that he's more interested in power than in principle, and he said the discussion needs to be about the underlying issue of racism in this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Donald Trump is turned this country in a battlefield driven by old resentments and fresh fears. He thinks division helps him. His narcissism has become more important than a nation's wellbeing that he leads. I ask every American - I mean this from the bottom. I ask asked every American. Look at where we are now and think anew. Is this who we are? Is this who we want to be?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: Just yesterday Biden met with community leaders at a predominantly black church in Delaware where he spent more than an hour listening to the needs and concerns, before promising a police oversight body within the first 100 days of his presidency to examine the practices and policies of police departments in an attempt to deal with institutional racism.

Biden has long been criticized for support of the 1994 Crime Bill, which led to disproportionate incarceration of minorities. Black leaders told Biden he needs to show up in visible ways and give them - including urging him to pick a black VP.

Now, Biden could clinch the nomination today with the number of delegates up for grabs. But this is coming amid some confusion at the polls. A number of male-in ballots have not been dropped off as of yesterday, 700,000 of them and they had to move locations where people could drop off their ballots from their regular precincts to a drop off location.

Now, people I talked to here said that they were happy that Biden made an appearance but they don't think that him showing up is going to address the underlying issue, they say that change needs to happen from the bottom up and they are hoping to see real leadership coming from the next president. Back to you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: All right, Jackie, thank you very much.

Joining me now, Marc Thiessen, co-host of American Enterprise Institute's What the Hell is Going on, a very apt question these days, and he is a Fox News contributor for us. And Juan Williams, co-host of The Five and Fox News political analyst. Gentlemen, welcome. Good to have both of you with us tonight.

MARC THIESSEN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Good to be with you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: It seems like yesterday that we were all saying --

JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS CO-HOST & POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Martha.

MACCALLUM: -- well, you know, the president is going to be judged on his impeachment proceeding, and then it was, you know, it's going to be this coronavirus and his handling of that, that's going to be the main issue in the election. Then it was the economy following that and now we have riots across the country and to the president has a lot on his plate, Marc.

Joe Biden is positioning himself as the person who can unite the nation. What do you think?

THIESSEN: Well, you know, Joe Biden was saying we need to focus on healing, it's kind of hard to heal the country when the country is on fire. You have to put the fire out first before you can heal.

There are millions of people who would love to be out there protesting in solidarity with George Floyd and his family but they can't because of criminal violence. You know, my kids wanted to go out in protest today and I told him no. Why? Because people are throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks,

You know, just read the police report about what happened in Lafayette Square the other day. The found, the police found caches of glass bottles, baseball bats and metal poles hidden along the streets by antifa, the protesters attempted to grab officer's weapons. This is happening outside of the White House. This is happening in our nation's capital.

So, you know, you can't have healing when the country is on fire and Joe Biden calling for healing, while people, where houses are burning, while businesses are burning, while people's lives are being destroyed is incongruous with what's happening in the streets.

MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean, I spoke to one of his top campaign folks the other night, Kate Bedingfield, and ask her, Juan, you know, does Joe Biden believe that the governors have been strong enough in the midst of all this violence? And she didn't answer that question directly in terms of what Biden would advise these governors to be doing right now, Juan?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think it's pretty clear that everybody wants us to get back to some peaceful situation so Marc's kids can join the demonstrators. I mean, we've seen peaceful demonstrations for the most part, today in New York City, huge demonstration, very peaceful but the problem here is that I think that we've got to heal first.

I mean, you can't say peace and get back to normal without saying, we want justice and we are willing to work for it. And we hear people who are saying that we have a problem with racism, especially when it comes to how the police deal with blacks and even more specifically black men.

So, I think that we have to, you know, just be honest with each other and own up to this. Now, I think President Trump is --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: I think that's exactly why Marc's kids --

WILLIAMS: -- you know, his message to the governors was --

MACCALLUM: -- want to go out and protest but they can't get out there because there's too many people breaking -- breaking windows and you know, trying to, attempting to run over police officers.

WILLIAMS: Well, I'm not -- I trust Marc's parenting skills but I must say that I know my neighbors have gone out, Martha, here in D.C. and I think what we saw today as I was going to New York --

THIESSEN: Young kids?

WILLIAMS: -- we saw a huge, huge -- yes, young kids. Because they wanted them, Marc --

THIESSEN: Wow.

WILLIAMS: -- to understand the American tradition of peaceful protest and they did, I mean, they had a fine time but that was in the afternoon.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

WILLIAMS: What you say is true about some of the things that happened at night. So, I think that -

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: All right. So, I want to ask you --

WILLIAMS: -- we have to first though pick up on what -- OK.

MACCALLUM: OK. I want to play this from Governor Cuomo. Because this is getting a ton of attention today. Here's what he had to say about the New York Police Department and Mayor de Blasio after he said that he had 13,000 National Guard just waiting to go in but that de Blasio didn't want them. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): The police in New York City were not effective at doing their jobs last night. Period. They have to do a better job.

The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night. I believe that.

Do your job, do what you've done in the past. You know how you've stopped looting in the past and how you've stopped rioting in the past? Do that again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, he has 13,000 National Guard at his disposal, Marc.

THIESSEN: Yes.

MACCALLUM: And he also told the president, no, thank you for additional help but now, you know, like we saw with the nursing home situation, he's going to blame it all on de Blasio and on the New York Police Department.

THIESSEN: Yes. He is channeling his inner Donald Trump and saying that we've got to be tougher with the protesters. I mean, look, the reality is that a lot of the -- a lot of people who are being -- I'm very -- I have, my heart breaks for George Floyd and for his family and any American who is afraid of becoming the next George Floyd because of the color of their skin.

But you know who else my heart breaks for? My heart breaks for the millions of Americans who have been, including many African-Americans who have been hit the hardest by this pandemic, who have been thrown out of work and all of a sudden, just came back to their jobs last week and now their businesses that employs them have been destroyed.

There was an African-American woman who tweeted the other night on Twitter, her name is Gigi Robinson (Ph), black woman in Chicago where they had rioters. She said, "I'm so hurt, I'm barely surviving. Not only do you all burn down my job at Walgreens but the grocery store in my neighborhood was looted, for what? Now my mom can't get a prescription or food. How is this for us?"

You know, we had to be just as concerned for the Gigi Robinson's (Ph) of the world, people whose livelihoods are being destroyed, their livelihoods are being destroyed --

MACCALLUM: Yes.

THIESSEN: -- first by the pandemic and now by these riots.

MACCALLUM: Yes. We'll let Juan -- yes, I mean, it comes at -- I mean, this is all cumulative. Is it not, Juan?

WILLIAMS: Yes. I mean, it's like, you know, I've heard this analogy before, so pardon me, Martha. But it's like a perfect storm. You said it at the top, you have the COVID virus, then you have the economic impact that it's had on the society.

And I would add, in both the case of the COVID and the high unemployment, disproportionate impact on what they call, you know, essential workers, but people who have been laid off and all the rest.

And now on top of all this racial tension, it's just a moment. You know, I was talking, I have a cousin in Charlotte, North Carolina, she lives alone and she gets her information through Fox News and she's just anxious, she's just worried for us as an American people, for our values, the idea that we have to stand together, that we have to show some understanding.

And I think that's what Gigi -- was it Robinson, Marc?

THIESSEN: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Was tweeting there. You know, don't tear up our community and don't come in here and do it on the name of the protest, you are not one of the majority of people who want a peaceful protest that leads to constructive change.

THIESSEN: Amen.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Well, that is exactly why we need to eliminate the violence from these situations because we're not going to get anywhere to the other side of THE STORY and to where we all want to be in a much more hopeful place of understanding because we're all Americans.

And that is the thing that we have to remember over and over and over. But the violence cannot stand and we have to do whatever we can to eliminate it.

Gentleman, always good to speak with both of you. Thank you so much.

THIESSEN: Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Juan and Marc, for being here tonight.

THIESSEN: Thank you, Juan.

MACCALLUM: So, Los Angeles County has imposed the harshest curfew since the 1992 Rodney King riots and that is set to take effect in 90 minutes. We are going to take you there live coming up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Thousands of protesters marching through Southern California at this hour, one day after the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood division set a record for the number of arrests in a single day, most of those looting, vandalism, and then curfew violations.

Jonathan Hunt is live in Hollywood tonight where the view that we just saw looks -- looks fairly peaceful there. Jonathan?

JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Martha. You joined us in a tense moment in what is being a very peaceful march of thousands through the heart of Hollywood. So, you look into the street here you can see one of protest, one single protester decided to sit in the middle of what is a busy road, Western Avenue through the heart of Hollywood.

Police, as you come across to the left here, have him surrounded, they are moving us along now, we're obviously complying with their orders as they've asked us too.

But I just want to reiterate, Martha, that this has been a march of thousands of people that has been going on for something like five hours now and it is been almost entirely peaceful, It is something we have seen again and again over the last 48 hours here, with a lot of violence in L.A. over the weekend.

But since then the police have adopted a different approach to these protesters, the protesters themselves in large part have observed the curfew. There have been a lot of arrest but those have been 90 percent of them in fact for curfew violations.

So that is just a handful of people staying at. There's been a handful of incidents of looting, but for the most part, Martha, L.A. tonight and last night was relatively speaking extremely peaceful and welcomingly so. Martha?

MACCALLUM: Thank you, Jonathan. Good news. We hope to see that trend continue across the nation cities tonight. Jonathan Hunt in Los Angeles.

In New York City a curfew is set to take effect minutes from now after nearly 700 arrests last night. Dr. Ben Carson says that the riots that we have seen are hurting our underserved communities the most. His message to those choosing violence, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: So, New York City's curfew moved to 8 p.m. tonight after the 11 p.m. experiment went really badly. They may have taken that lesson from what we found in Washington, D.C. where they backed up the curfew after a bad night as well.

Correspondent Bryan Llenas is steps away from Trump Tower this evening and covering all of this for us tonight. Hello, Bryan.

BRYAN LLENAS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Martha, good evening.

Just moments ago, we had thousands of protesters approach Trump Tower here on Fifth Avenue. They were peaceful, they have now dissipated. We are now less than 10 -- about 10 minutes away from the 8 p.m. curfew and tonight it is far different than what we've seen in the past. A more aggressive posture by the NYPD and the city.

First of all, it's at 8 p.m. and at now 11 p.m., we saw a lot of looting during those three hours last night. Second of all, Citi Bike is no longer allowed, those are the rental bike program here, bike sharing programs here, we've seen a lot of looters use those bikes.

Lyft and Uber is no longer allowed to be on the roads between the hours of 8 p.m. and 12.30 except if you are an essential worker that you can't take one of the city's cabs if you need to get to a hospital. We're right into the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

And they've also blocked off traffic at 96th Street, the upper -- the upper -- on the highways to keep all vehicular traffic from entering Manhattan. The question now is whether or not the National Guard will be used. And both New York Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio actually are on the same page about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: I do believe the NYPD well deployed wouldn't need the National Guard.

Do your job. Do what you've done in the past. You know how you've stopped looting in the past and how you stopped rioting in the past? Do that again.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY): No, on the National Guard. We will regret it if we bring outside armed forces. I want to say as clear as a bell, if someone wants to go and check all the history of what happens when outside armed forces go into our communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LLENAS: Over the last two nights it has been mayhem on the looting front and rioting. We have seen stores up and down midtown Manhattan, upper east side, the upper west everywhere burglarized by people in cars, coming in, in large groups, splitting up and the NYPD has had their hands full with that.

We've also seen injuries to police officers, at least one officer caught on tape beaten in the Bronx, we saw another officer that was hit by a vehicle. So, it has been a tense situation. They are -- there are 13,000 National Guard troops on standby if needed, we shall see.

Again, a lot of questions tonight, it has been pretty horrific, it's just awful to see these businesses hurt the way that they have been. And, Martha, one last note, there have been 500 arrests for theft in New York, most of those people will be released because of the city's bail reform laws. Martha?

MACCALLUM: Bryan, thank you. So, nine minutes away from when everybody is supposed to clear the streets and go home. Bryan Llenas, thank you very much.

So, I'm joined now by Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Dr. Carson, always good to have you with us.

Looks like it's a little bit quieter so far but this is not the witching hour that we've seen, you know, that happens after eight o'clock with the people who break these curfews. What -- you say that it's the communities that are underserved in this country that get the most hurt by the rioting that we have been seeing going on?

BEN CARSON, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: That's correct. You know, their establishments are being destroyed, the places where they go to work, the places where they service themselves. And, you know, the people who are creating the havoc, the violence, they say they do that because no one will listen if you are peaceful.

Have they forgotten about the legacy of one of the greatest Americans of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King, who was an advocate for nonviolent protests and through the success of the nonviolent protest brought about the greatest social change that has ever been seen? How can they forget about that so easily?

MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean, it's a great point, and I think about Martin Luther King and religious leaders like Father Hesburgh at Notre Dame and others who joined arms and marched together and I wonder where the call is for that, for religious leaders, for African-American leaders, for leaders of all races to come together and to march together in peace and to try to push back on some of this.

Do you sense that that is something that we might see as a result of all of this? Where is that?

CARSON: I would love to see that and I would call on those leaders to have courage because a lot of times people don't do what they know they should do because they are afraid of the push back and there is a lot of pushback when you try to do what's right sometimes.

But we need to recognize that we, the American people, are not each other's enemies. And we should not succumb to those who are trying to make us believe that we are enemies, to divide and conquer.

I have never seen a situation where violent activity of this nature accomplishes something good. It only accomplishes bad. It's ruining these neighborhoods. It's ruining the chances of a lot of people to climb the ladders of opportunity. Think about those people. Don't just think about your feelings.

I understand the anger that some people feel after seeing this horrendous murder take place before our eyes. No one can deny that it happened and there is reason to be angry about that. But the justice system I can virtually guarantee you is going to make sure that those officers are taken care of in terms of what they did. They create a crime against humanity.

MACCALLUM: We hope so.

CARSON: And they will be taken care of.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Yes. We're waiting for a news on the others.

CARSON: We do not need to take it into our own hands.

MACCALLUM: You know, I'm curious what you think about President Trump's moves during all of this, you know, is there anything that you would like to see him do that he's not doing? I mean, obviously he is very much on the side of law and order. He doesn't want to see the violence that we've been seeing.

There are a lot of peaceful protesters who have been walking those streets as well. We're looking at some of them out there this evening with signs, who want to be heard. What would you like to see from the president on that side of the equation?

CARSON: Well, I had a conversation with the president last night after the Lafayette Park episode and you know, he feels very much like I do, he doesn't necessarily express himself the same way as I do but, you know, he's very disturbed by what happened to Mr. Floyd. And he's very disturbed that things are moving so slowly in terms of the justice system but he sure that it will be taking care of.

But you know, I would like to see everybody just take a step back on both sides, don't use every opportunity to criticize someone else and to try to make them into the demon and get into respective corners and just throw hurdles -

MACCALLUM: All right.

CARSON: -- hurl insults at each other, that's not helpful.

MACCALLUM: All right.

CARSON: We can do better than that.

MACCALLUM: Great point. Doctor --

(CROSSTALK)

CARSON: That's what I'd like to see from every -- every corner.

MACCALLUM: Dr. Carson --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: That is THE STORY of Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020. But as always, THE STORY continues, so does our hope and faith in tomorrow. We'll see you tomorrow night, everybody. Have a good one.

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