That sure sounds like a corrupt government attacking a private busines, so I hope he does not.
Not sure why he thought it was a good idea to post something that can be interpreted as threatening to shoot demonstrators, or looters.
We don’t generally shoot looters. In fact, I guess people who own stores occasionally shoot people who are robbing them, but it is hard to NOT GET arrested if you shoot an unarmed person taking your stuff, if you can’t show that you were in danger.
We in general take a dim view of killing people over property. Which makes it hard to stop a riot, if the police can’t step in and do mass arrests.
THAT might have been a good tweet — “once the lootings start, the arrests will follow.” I know he was quoting someone, but he had a chance to be on top of this one, since he clearly was against the cops and for the guy who was killed, but this “shoot the looters” does not go well, especially since they were already looting, and we clearly were not shooting.
Also, he is not going to “take over” the national guard and direct them, he’s going to leave that in the state hands, so saying he was going to take it over is another bluster, which normally goes over but not so much in a crisis.
Can the arsonists be shot?
Read up on history. It has happened many times. For example, the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906. Notices were posted that looters would be shot. And they were shot by authorities. Very effective for restoring order.
SF 1906 proclamation from the Mayor Eugene Schmitz:
"The Federal Troops, the members of the Regular Police Force and all Special Police Officers have been authorized by me to KILL any and all persons found engaged in Looting or in the Commission of Any Other Crime."
"The reports of citizens shot as a result of the Mayor's Proclamation vary greatly, and range from one dozen up to one hundred."