Retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis has accused Donald Trump of trying to divide Americans and warned against using the military to put a lid on the protests. Previously serving as Donald Trump's defense secretary, Mattis threw in the towel nearly a year and a half ago due to policy differences but has now issued an exceptional critique of the administration's handling of the protests.

In a statement, which was published in The Atlantic on Jun. 3, Mattis said when he joined the military about 50 years ago, he swore an oath to not only support but also to defend the Constitution. Mattis said, he never imagined that troops that took that same oath will be commanded under any situation to tamper with the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens, let alone doing it for a photo op for the commander-in-chief, with military leadership just standing alongside.

This statement alluded to multiple events on Jun. 1, wherein peaceful protesters were cleared using physical force from outside the White House to pave the way for Trump's photoshoot with Bible in hand, outside the historic church. Mattis described these actions as executive authority abuse. The criticism comes on the same day that the current Defense Secretary Mark Esper opposed enforcing the Insurrection Act, which enables the president to use the military within the U.S., something Trump had warned to do during a speech earlier this week.

Esper described the protests as a battlespace, and the president advised governors to take the help of law enforcement and the National Guard to control the protesters. Mattis wrote in the statement that we must avoid thinking of the cities as a battlespace that America's unaware military is called up to control. At home, Mattis said, the military should be deployed only under rare occasions by state governors.

Trump has faced constant criticism from senior ranks, but the military leadership speaking out against the sitting president is quite unusual. Speaking about a deadly Unite the Right rally that took place in Charlottesville, VA, about three years ago, Trump said there were fine people on both sides. This remark led to each military service chiefs and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman issuing statements condemning bigotry.

Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Joe Dunford clarified that there is no place for racism or bigotry in the United States military or the U.S. as a whole. Earlier this week, former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairmen Adm. Mike Mullen and Gen. Martin Dempsey opposed the use of the military to quell the protest on Monday. Dempsey took to Twitter to share his view, remarking that America is not a battleground and American citizens are not the enemy of the country.