Police outnumber protesters at right-wing Capitol rally - BBC News
By: Matt Braynard (BBC News)
giggle
police outnumber protestors....snort!
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A few hundred protesters gathered around the US Capitol on Saturday, for a rally in support of the pro-Trump rioters who ransacked the building on 6 January.
But the group were easily outnumbered by the police and journalists present.
Ahead of the event, police said they had detected "threats of violence" and security was tightened in Washington.
Organisers had a permit for 700 to attend, but only about 100 to 200 protesters turned up, Reuters reports.
Capitol Police said 400 to 450 people were inside the protest area - but that figure included the heavy media presence.
Washington police officials had been expressing concern about the "Justice for J6" event for weeks.
Its organisers - Look Ahead America - were led by Matt Braynard, the former director of data and strategy for Donald Trump's successful 2016 campaign.
- Capitol riots timeline: How the day unfolded
- Capitol riots: What we have learned six months on
- Who stormed the Capitol?
Hundreds of officers patrolled the Capitol grounds and 100 National Guard troops were on standby.
A fence was erected around the Capitol, and lawmakers were advised to avoid the area.
image source, Reutersimage caption
Speakers at the rally insisted that hundreds of rioters arrested for their actions on 6 January were "political prisoners" who had committed no violence.
About 600 people have been charged in the federal investigation into the Capitol riot, where a pro-Trump mob tried to stop the US Congress from certifying the 2020 election result.
At least 185 are accused of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police officers or employees. More than 70 were charged with destroying or stealing government property.
Most of those charged have been released ahead of their trials. The Associated Press news agency reports that about 63 are still in custody, citing court and jail records.
In July, officers who defended the Capitol during the riot told a Congressional committee they had been beaten and suffered racial abuse. One testified that he was knocked unconscious and suffered a heart attack. Another, an Iraq War veteran, compared the scene to a "medieval battlefield".
media caption
Tony Smith, 40, from Maryland, told Reuters news agency he had come to Saturday's rally to support a fair judicial process for those charged.
"If we don't honour that, we don't honour America," said Mr Smith, who carried a poster board reading: "We Want Trump!"
Some counter-protesters also gathered around the Capitol, carrying anti-Trump signs. One was removed by police after confronting the pro-Trump attendees.
image source, EPAimage caption
Rally organiser Mr Braynard had repeatedly urged his protesters to remain peaceful. Earlier this week he also asked them to avoid wearing pro-Trump clothing or paraphernalia.
Mr Trump, for his part, said in an interview that he believed the rally would be "a setup".
"If people don't show up they'll say 'oh, it's a lack of spirit'," he told The Federalist, a conservative news outlet. "If people do show up, they'll be harassed."
Capitol Police said four arrests were made, including a person in the crowd who was carrying a knife, and a man reported to be carrying a handgun.
-
Capitol riots: What we have learned six months on
Published 12 July
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It wasn't about justice! That sign Smith was holding tells the real truth
Meanwhile up in Canada, 'We' don't know who 'They' want other than none of them. However, in a multi-party system 'We' are guaranteed a loser will win.
loserpalooza
A city with one of the highest crime rates in the country and they are worried about a peaceful protest. Somebody's priorities are in the crapper.
huh? The trmpers were the ones that said it would be "peaceful". Sounds like the DC police and NG didn't believe them
1/6/21 was peaceful too. it was all those antifa dudes disguised as trumpster dipshits that caused all the problems, dontchaknow...
The trmpers were the ones that said it would be "peaceful".
[deleted]
police outnumber protestors....snort!
I'll see your snort! and up you a double snort!
Well here's a giggle to add to your double snort!
Few people support the January 6th insurrectionists!
[deleted]
I saw an interview with the kid in the coonskin cap.
If he is an example of Trumpists they are all idiots.
Here's a poster child for the MAGA mental midgets -
That story would make a good seed
We managed to get through a group of idiots shouting at the sky without an alternative group of idiots unable to stop themselves "counter-protesting".
And look....no violence. Hmmmmm.......
Maybe Americans are finally growing up.
This turned out pretty much as I expected. I felt the real danger might be counter-protesters showing up and feeling they had to "resist" something but I'm glad to see that didn't happen. That isn't intended as a put down on anyone, but there's at least as many on the Left who have "strong feelings" about the 6th and I thought it might be possible. Glad to see it didn't appear.
I'm all for "Justice for J6" but not in the same manner these people are. The people they were supposedly there to stand up for broke the law and they need to answer for it. That so many on the Left did worse over the last couple of years, in my opinion, isn't an excuse for anyone on the Right to do the same thing. While I am sickened by the lack of prosecution of so many rioters over the last couple years, that doesn't equate to the childish reasoning that the J6 rioters should get off as well simply because those others did. That's just stupid and no way to run a system of justice.
What I find most frustrating about all of this is that all these activists, on every side, seem to have lost all capacity for reason. You actually have people out there who think rioting, destroying and burning, attacking the police and whatever, is a legitimate form of protest. You can easily find articles that will explain to you why it is legitimate, but when those they oppose do those things, it's somehow a different ballgame. Or, if anything in the news can be trusted to have any truth in it at all, you have people who decry the riots coming from the Left while at the same time hanging out in their extremist Right wing chat rooms talking about armed resistance, or devising some sort of "patriotic" fantasy where they see themselves as the hero.
At least this protest turned out as it should have. A peaceful exercise of their First Amendment rights. No one has to agree with them. I don't. But we all should hope that, going forward, protests will actually be peaceful.
I also see no value in protests that engage in violence. Violence is counterproductive. Observers (who the protestors wish to influence) are dissuaded when the protestors show ugliness (violence). Peaceful, calm (albeit intense and long) protests are the most effective approach.
Agreed. And even more effective is to do the hard thing and work within the system to make a difference rather than just smash stuff until somebody capitulates. Work to get the representation you want. But it's easier just to throw rocks, I suppose, and feels better to the lazy.
what a load of bullshit. who on the left attempted to obstruct the peaceful transition of power, mandated by the US Constitution, by breaching the US Capitol building and impeding the certification of a presidential election? who? name them. right wing false equivalency bullshit. f'n trump scum crossed the line 1/6. own it.
You misunderstand me. I'm not saying they are the same thing. I'm not saying they are equivalent. What happened on J6th was bad and incredibly stupid but, to my mind, wasn't the "near end to democracy" some make it out to be. There was zero chance the election would be overturned let alone the government overthrown. There's no convincingly conceivable way it could have happened. That doesn't make it okay. It doesn't excuse it.
The reason I think the riots in all the cities were worse was because they actually were intending to overthrow governments. They were using violence over and over and over again often with the support of the elected officials in those municipalities for the purpose of intimidating their communities to capitulate to their will. Some factions within the Left told us they wanted to burn it ALL down. They did untold amounts of damage, not just materially when they destroyed stuff, they damaged the future of those cities because businesses were/are moving out. That's going to hurt in the long run. Who's going to move businesses back in when those businesses have no assurances it won't happen to them, too?
J6 is likely to be a one off. The people in the capital had a frightening time, but it's done. The rest of the riots I am speaking of were not a one off and they are still feeling the economic effects of it all. This is why I consider them worse. The effects are much greater for the average people in those cities than they are for the elite congress people. That's my opinion.
P.S.
Also, the J6 event threatened people with power and they used that power to do something about it. The the riots threatened people without power and the people in congress did nothing. That sort of pisses me off. Another reason I think they were worse.
yeah well, whatever helps you sleep at night. an emptied store, a burnt building, and/or some broken windows seem a lot less significant compared to the sum total of events leading up to 1/6, happening during, and now taking place, or not. apparently it's too difficult for some to discern the difference between a local problem affecting at most a couple million versus one of a potential national magnitude of 330+ million. let us not forget what led to most of those riots.
Interesting way to see it but I'm not surprised. From where I stand, what I saw was violent rioting, supported at the Municipal, State and Federal level. I haven't forgotten all that was said by Democrats at each of those levels to defend or excuse what was happening. They used those riots as a tool to further their goals and the media helped them do it. That's hardly a local problem. Rather, I see it as a national magnitude problem that the Democratic Party is willing to use such methods. I'm not an "end justifies the means" supporter and anyone with any common sense shouldn't either. Historically, it hasn't led to good things.
Well if you're not willing to use it properly, I will.
"Counter-protesters" are among the vilest and most stupid people in our society, and we can't be rid of them soon enough.
So that young woman who was run down and killed in Charlottesville was vile and stupid.
Good to know where you stand
there were lots of official armed observers in positions of advantage at the time of this protest.
Absolutely.
She actively engaged in an unlawful riot where she and a group of armed idiots showed up for the sole purpose of violently engaging another group of more heavily armed idiots.
These people are not innocent or intelligent just because they agree with your politics.
Would you please provide a source for your posit that the counter protesters showed up armed?
From the Washington Post:
From your own link the "rally goers" waved nationalist banners and a large number had guns. Meanwhile from the same link, the counter protesters had sticks and shields.
How do well do you sticks and shields will hold up to a pistol or a rifle?
What difference does that possibly make, except for further demonstrating how stupid these people are.
You asked for documentation of the fact that they were armed. You have it. Included in the article also is the documentation that the police had declared the assembly an unlawful riot.
I don't even know why I bother
Bother doing what, exactly? Looking at objective facts instead of automatically believing ridiculous political spin?
OK, I'm curious. How often do you take a club and shield to an event you intend to be "peaceful"? The whole idea that they ever intended to be peaceful is idiotic.