“Upstairs in the Residence, President Trump was growing anxious,” Meadows reportedly wrote in The Chief’s Chief, which published Tuesday. “He had given an order for the park to be cleared, and it was not being followed. The various law enforcement agencies that were supposed to be under the command of [then-Attorney General] Bill Barr were clearly not communicating with one another, and it did not seem that a single arrest had yet been made.”

Protesters had gathered in Lafayette Square on June 1 as part of the demonstrations sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. According to Meadows, the protesters were trying to take down a statue of President Andrew Jackson that stood in the park, prompting him to phone Trump. “It looks like we have a situation out here,” Meadows said, according to the book. “They’re trying to tear down statues and vandalizing the park. I assume that we have the authority to deploy whatever law enforcement is necessary to fix this?”

Trump’s answer was yes, and more. “Not only do you have the authority,” the president said, according to Meadows. “I want you to go out there and bust some heads and make some arrests. We need to restore order.”