RIOT: Don’t compare to BLM

As the depth, the truth and the horror of the capitol riot Jan. 6 becomes ever more evident, so does the flood of false equivalence and comparisons to BLM.

The BLM protests are a social movement driven by rage and fear in response to the ongoing issue of police brutality in the U.S.

Fact: From 2010-2019 there were about 15,000 Americans killed by police. Compare this to 237 for ALL of western Europe with 741 million people.

Before anyone starts with “many of them had it coming,” which is true in many cases, a great many of them did not, such as Laquan McDonald, who was shot in the back 16 times…because a single bullet just would not be enough. Or George Floyd, who was executed in the street for passing a fake $20 bill.

Fact: The Capitol riots were a direct assault on the U.S. seat of government. It becomes obvious now that the intent was to take over Congress and capture or kill members of that body.

There is no dispute on either side that the endless lies from Trump has instigated and encouraged these acts. Trump has said hundreds of times the election was “stolen.” To this day no evidence of any sort exists for that claim, and 60 fed judges and the Supreme Court agree.

Trump lost the election. These “patriots” decided to riot, driven by ignorance and a blanket denial of reality.

DANIEL STRAYER

Bonners Ferry