I would add another comment on this subject- the idiocy from those on the political right who, whenever someone brings up the January 6th attack on the capital, they inevitably bring up "What about BLM riots." Jeesh!
First, they act like nobody from BLM events in which there was violence were arrested when in fact, by June 22, 2020, police had made 14,000 arrests in 49 cities since the protests began, with most arrests being locals charged with low-level offenses such as violating curfews or blocking roadways.
Second, what these right wing nutcases don't realize is that between May 25 and June 4, 2020, 89% of protest demonstrations were non-violent while later between June and September 2020 more than 96% of BLM associated protests were non-violent!
Third, there is ample evidence that some people who instigated violence or vandalism at BLM events were in fact provocateurs, not actual BLM protestors. The rightwingers claim Jan6 was set up by infiltrators but there is ZERO evidence of this.
Fourth, wingnuts also like to cite the dollar value of the damages that followed BLM events which reportedly reaches $2 Billion. Keep in mind that there were at least 140 BLM events nationwide. My wife and I participated in peaceful events here in Grand Rapids Michigan. Following the event when most protesters disbursed and went home, some vandalism occurred for which police caught the perpetrators- these vandalizing actions did NOT occur during the actual event! But back to the dollar amount- $2 Billion. This is practically chicken feed compared to losses during natural disasters. Hurricane Isaias will cost $3 billion-$5 billion and wildfires as of June 2020 had already reached $1.5 billion.
Fifth, BLM events, whether peaceful or not, were in response to legitimate grievances of law enforcement's reckless disregard for black lives and the out of proportion loss of black lives at the hands of police- real grievances! Whereas the Jan6 rioters were motivated not by real grievances, but lies and disinformation.
And lastly, property damages are repairable and insured. But the damage to our democratic system of peaceful transfer of the office of the President is still ongoing and not yet repaired.
