National Review

WaPo allows activists to twist the Capitol riots to create racist and political points

Several Washington Post articles published in the days following the pro-Trump riots at Capitol Hill ignored key details in an effort to portray the day’s events as an inevitable result of ethnically disparate police. One of these articles, titled “Children’s Treatment of Gloves for Trump Supporters Contrasts the Mob to Strong Police Tactics Against Black Lives Matter, Activists Say” – was published Wednesday evening, just hours after the chaos subsided. It quoted a number of Black Lives Matter activists who misinterpreted the day’s events to suggest that the police were tolerating the pro-Trump rioters because most of them were white. The four journalists whose secondary lines are listed in the article did not bother to verify any of the false claims, and the article ignores, among other relevant facts, that a Trump supporter was shot dead by the police and that the mayor of the capital initially requested it. “There was no gunfire, no rubber bullets, no tear gas” to the National Guard at the scene, Leslie Macsbaden, Michael Brown’s mother, told the newspaper. “It wasn’t like what we saw. Nothing like what we saw.” Direy McKesson, described in the Post as “a leading voice for the Black Lives Matter,” told the paper, “Blacks and browns have been shot and arrested for much less time.” We did not enter the building. They would start shooting at them the moment they started rushing toward the police. ”In fact, police used tear gas, powerful grenades and lethal force in a struggle to defend the Capitol from the mob, although the footage showed that some policemen surrendered After their ranks were breached, and selfies were snapped with Trump supporters intent on halting the certification of Electoral College votes to enter the Capitol building, however, a small group of Capitol Police officers took a stand protecting lawmakers who were hiding in the Speaker’s foyer outside the House of Representatives. The Capitol shot a Trump supporter – a US Air Force veteran turned conspiracy theorist Ashley Babbitt – as he tried to enter the hallway.Three Trump supporters died from what appeared to be medical emergencies during the riot, while an officer died Capitol police at the hospital on Thursday after he was reportedly hit in the head with a fire extinguisher. Capitol Police are using the flash to try to convince the Trump crowd of this. Distracted. Pic.twitter.com/IHAtc1dsJ5> > – Julio Rosas (@ Julio_Rosas11) January 6, 2021> “Make no mistake: If the protesters were black, they would have been subjected to tear gas, beatings and possibly bullets.” Pic.twitter.com/LSm3Y4WiVk >> – tsar becket adams (BecketAdams) January 8, 2021 Post’s article continues to describe rioters as “breaking barriers, smashing windows, and beating police officers – without apparent consequences”. The article also mentions “Pictures of men and women wearing red Trump 2020 hats and holding American and Confederate flags walking through the Capitol Building largely without harassment.” It did not refer to the dead in the chaos, nor was it updated to reflect the killing of Babbitt nor the arrest of dozens of Trump supporters for their role in the riots. On Thursday, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris used similar ethnic framing in public comments. Biden argued that “nobody can tell me that if it were a group of important blacks protesting yesterday, there wouldn’t be – they wouldn’t have been treated very differently,” while Harris said, “We saw two systems of justice when we saw one of them allowing extremists to break into the state Capitol building. And the other fired tear gas at peaceful protesters last summer. In escalating unrest that was expected on Wednesday, The Post reported that a story indicating that Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has activated every police officer in the city to be on duty on Tuesday and Wednesday, along with more than 300 members of the capital’s National Guard. The article noted that officials “limited the size and scope of the” National Guard’s role “after its deployment during the racial justice protests in June raised questions about whether the Trump administration is trying to use the military as a political club. Bowser said in a press release on Tuesday, which made clear that the Metropolitan Police Department has “additional logistical support for unarmed members of the capital’s National Guard, who will operate under the supervision and coordination of MPD.” But after the chaos at the Capitol, the Post – which first incorrectly reported that the Pentagon had “denied” National Guard reinforcements – reported an additional story titled “The Pentagon placed restrictions on DC Guard ahead of the pro-Trump protests over the narrow mission,” which It implies that the Trump appointees decided to slow down the reinforcements of the exhausted police force. The story was later updated to reflect the restrictions placed on the National Guard “in response to a request from the Mayor of the Capital,” which complicated the initial situation at a critical angle. A defense official told the newspaper that city officials initially requested “the deployment of only a small unit of about 340 guards, primarily to control traffic and monitor metro stations.” “All leaders have left and right boundaries.” The official said. “There is no such thing as absolute mandate.”