Black Lives Matter protests vs. Capitol riots: Addressing the difference
WASHINGTON - President-elect Joe Biden didn't mince words about the difference in security response when a mob of Trump supporters violently forced their way into the U.S. Capitol.
"No one can tell me that had it been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday they wouldn’t have been treated very, very, differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol. We all know that's true and it's unacceptable," said Biden.
FULL COVERAGE: CAPITOL RIOT
The response or lack thereof noticeably different from a Black Lives Matter protest last summer on Lafayette Square in Washington D.C. where protestors were met with tear gas and police in riot gear firing rubber bullets.
"Totally unacceptable. The American people saw it in plain view," he said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the resignation of Steven Sund, chief of the Capitol Police, which came hours later. But Pelosi said it doesn't stop with them.
"It goes to the FBI, what was the shortcoming in their intelligence that they provided? It goes to the Department of Defense. How long did it take them to respond or anticipate the need for the National Guard," said Pelosi.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama also weighed in with this statement, which reads in part, "Seeing the gulf between the responses to yesterday's riot and this summers' peaceful protests and the larger movement for racial justice is so painful. It hurts. I cannot think about moving on or turning the page until we reckon with the reality of what we saw yesterday."
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