Michelle Obama and LeBron James were among a multitude of Blacks who decried the stark discrepancy in how police have treated the Black Lives Matter movement compared to the violent White insurrectionists at the U.S. Capitol.
Hundreds of seditionists breached the Capitol building on Wednesday, Jan. 6, and desecrated the hallowed halls of the institution, ransacking the property, relieving themselves on the floors, stealing legislators’ property and vandalizing individual offices.
Yet only 61 people were arrested following the debacle at the Capitol, with most of the arrest coming long after when the White rioters violated the District of Columbia’s 6 p.m. curfew.
Five times more people were arrested in Washington when 316 Black Lives Matters supporters were arrested on June 1, 2020, according to statistics obtained by CNN.
Additionally, CNN noted that the charges slapped on the BLM protesters back in June were harsher in degree and severity than those at the U.S. Capitol in January. Arrestees associated with the BLM were mostly charged with felony riot charges as opposed to the White insurrectionists who were charged with misdemeanor curfew violations.
Furthermore, the police presence differed radically between the two groups. In June 2020, CNN states the BLM protestors were confronted by a large police presence replete with a battalion of National Guard troops, military helicopters, and tear gas. On Jan. 6, 2021, the throngs of people faced a much smaller police force, mostly just Capitol cops.
There is also data to prove that the January uprising caused much more damage and was costlier than in June. The stats CNN obtained show that 56 officers were injured, including one who was reportedly murdered by White rioters at the Capitol. Compare that to 21 officers who were injured in June while confronting the BLM.
Monica Hopkins, executive director of the ACLU of DC, told CNN that the disparities show “when officers choose to do something and when they choose to do nothing.”
