National Guard troops were deployed near the White House on Monday evening, ABC News reported.
The move came hours after US President Donald Trump said he wanted a military show of force against violent protests gripping the nation.
Several truckloads of DC National Guard troops arrived near Lafayette Park across Pennsylvania Avenue where large groups of protesters had fought with police for the past three nights, at one point on Friday causing officials to have Trump taken to a bunker below the White House for his protection.
A US official said that active duty Army military police units from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, are getting ready to be in the nation's capital after days of violent protests including fires set nearby.
Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday afternoon declared a curfew beginning at 7:00 p.m.
"During the hours of the curfew, no person, other than persons designated by the Mayor, shall walk, bike, run, loiter, stand, or motor by car or other mode of transport upon any street, alley, park, or other public place within the District," the mayor's order said.
Earlier, as the White House geared up for another night of protests outside its gates, Trump criticized governors for their handling of demonstrations over George Floyd's death, emphasizing instances of rioting and looting that marred overwhelmingly peaceful protests across the country.
The President told the nation’s governors on a call Monday that they need to “dominate” over the ongoing situation of unrest and has related the situation to a military conflict.
"You have to dominate, if you don't dominate you're wasting your time," Trump said, according to a recording of the call obtained by ABC News. "They're gonna run over you, you're gonna look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate."
He said at another point, "It is a war in a certain sense and we're gonna end it fast.”
Meanwhile on Monday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a curfew will be imposed on New York City as the protests and riots continue.
On Saturday, governors in several US states called in National Guard troops as the protests over police killings of black men intensified.
Among those who called in the National Guard was Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The call came after several businesses in Dallas were looted and vandalized during a protest overnight Friday.
Other states to have called in the National Guard are Minnesota, Georgia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Utah.