Double standard? Riot on Capitol Hill draws criticism, comparisons
It's a scene many could hardly imagine, hundreds upon hundreds of pro-Trump supporters storming the halls of Congress while Capitol police struggled to hold them off. The riot on Wednesday is drawing criticism and comparisons on the stance law enforcement took with Black Lives Matter protestors over the Summer.
"What I experienced was tear-gas being shot at me, rubber bullets being released on me and my friends," said Nia Miranda, an actress and activist. "It was chaos. We had officers dressed in SWAT clothing with rifles there, helicopters surrounding us everywhere. It was chaos and it wasn't started from the peaceful protesters."
Some are calling it a failure of equal justice. Images that show one of the rioters taking a selfie with a police officer and video appearing to show another officer allowing the mob in through a barricade is raising questions.
"We would not have seen what we saw yesterday if it were black people. I say it would have been a massacre if it were black people trying to charge the Capitol," said Patrisse Cullors, a Black Lives Matter co-founder.
Capitol police were brought in to protect the grounds of the nation's Capitol, its wasn't until after the pro-Trump mob forced their way inside that the National Guard arrived to help remove them. A stark contract to the National Guard that lined the steps of congress during a BLM march this past Summer.
"They had the military on the front stairs. We could not even consider breaking-in. Could not consider that. It just shows that white privilege is real and white supremacy is real," said Miranda.
House Democrats consider mid-next week for possible vote on Trump's 2nd impeachment, sources say
