Critics say the administration is seeking to shift the focus away from its widely criticised response to the coronavirus pandemic.
President Donald Trump is to send a « surge » of federal law enforcement officers into cities including Chicago and Albuquerque in a crackdown on crime.
Protests over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May have spread across the US, some turning violent and descending into civil disorder.
Mr Trump is presenting himself as the candidate of law and order against his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, as he seeks re-election in the 3 November election, now just over 100 days away.
Critics say the administration is seeking to shift the focus away from its widely criticised response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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But announcing his plan for further federal intervention into US communities « plagued by violent crime » – following deployments in Portland, Oregon – Mr Trump painted Democrat-led cities as out of control and blamed the « radical left ».
« In recent weeks there has been a radical movement to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police department, » said Mr Trump, blaming the movement for « a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders and heinous crimes of violence ».
