Trump says protesters during military parade to face 'heavy force'

Trump made the remarks on Tuesday while visiting Fort Bragg in North Carolina and speaking at an event related to the celebration, which will culminate with the parade that coincides with his 79th birthday. He watched the US Army demonstrate a missile strike, a helicopter assault and a building raid at Fort Bragg, which celebrated the 250th anniversary of that branch of the military, Xinhua news agency reported.

In remarks from the Oval Office before he left for North Carolina, Trump said that protesters who assembled during the military parade would be met with "very big force," a dark warning that made no distinction between peaceful demonstrations and violent confrontations, noted The New York Times about the development.

Trump boasted about the "amazing day" he planned before saying that any demonstrators would be dealt with harshly. "For those people that want to protest, they're going to be met with very big force. And I haven't even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force."

"Trump's comments came after the president spent several minutes praising his administration's deployment of thousands of National Guard and Marines in response to protests that had broken out over the weekend in Los Angeles against sweeping federal immigration raids," said the report.

The episodes of unrest have included burned cars, concrete chunks hurled at officers and robberies at spots like an Apple Store, it added.

Supporters of the California protests who oppose Trump's immigration crackdowns have said the protests were largely peaceful, and that the episodes of violence have been amplified by Trump's allies and administration.