Former President Donald Trump on Monday hinted at a double standard as, unlike the Jan. 6 incident, protester violence at the White House on Saturday got little legacy media attention and there were no arrests, with the former president calling for the freeing of Jan. 6 detainees, whom he called “hostages.”
A pro-Palestinian protest in Washington on Jan. 13 became unruly as activists breached an exterior White House gate and clashed with riot police, with the unrest prompting an evacuation of some staff members from the White House, as people threw bottles and other objects.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela A. Smith, who oversees police in the District of Columbia, said in a statement that, while much of the demonstration “remained peaceful, there were instances of illegal and destructive behavior,” including objects thrown at officers.
While Chief Smith said that investigations would be launched to “hold those found responsible accountable for their actions,” so far, no arrests have been made and the incident has received relatively little legacy media attention.
President Trump took to social media on Monday to hint at a double standard, given that legacy media outlets have called the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach an “insurrection” and subjected the incident to intense scrutiny and extended coverage.
Pro-Palestine Protest
Thousands of demonstrators converged opposite the White House on Jan. 13 to call for an end to Israeli military action in Gaza, which is aimed at the Iran-backed Islamic extremist group Hamas designated a terror organization by the United States and others.Since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli border communities by Hamas killed hundreds of Israeli as well as Arab civilians, Israel has waged a military campaign in Gaza to eliminate Hamas.
The Israeli action, involving a massive bombing campaign, is estimated to have killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, including many civilians.
As the Israel-Hamas war approached its 100th day, thousands took part in a rally billed the “March on Washington for Gaza” to call for a ceasefire.
While much of the protest remained peaceful, violence broke out on Saturday night. People rushed against a reinforced gate installed as an extra security measure in front of the main White House gate, causing it to shake, while others tried to scale it.
Footage of the incident showed objects, such as bottles, thrown over the fence in the direction of police.
“While a majority of today’s demonstration remained peaceful, there were instances of illegal and destructive behavior in Lafayette Park, including items being thrown at our officers,” Chief Smith said in a statement.
The incident led to a partial evacuation of staff members from the White House.
The White House reported no damage to the main and adjacent buildings, and no arrests were made by Secret Service personnel, Fox News reported.
Chief Smith said any type of lawless behavior during protests wouldn’t be tolerated.
“The right to peacefully protest is one of the cornerstones of our democracy, and the Metropolitan Police Department has long supported those who visit our city to demonstrate safely,“ she said in the statement. ”However, violence, destructive behavior, and criminal activities are not tolerated.”
The protest came about a week after the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incident.
‘All Jan. 6 Perpetrators’ to Be Targeted
On the eve of the third anniversary of the Capitol breach, the country’s top prosecutor made clear that the Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Joe Biden has no intention of letting Jan. 6 participants off easy—including those who weren’t even there that day.Prosecutors have, to date, secured over 890 convictions in connection to the Jan. 6 incident, with Mr. Garland vowing to press ahead to cast the DOJ dragnet widely.
“Our work continues,” he said. “As I said before, the Justice Department will hold all January 6 perpetrators, at any level, accountable under the law—whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.
“We are following the facts and the law where they lead.”
By contrast, President Trump rallied his base in Iowa on the eve of the Jan. 6 anniversary.
“The J6 hostages, I call them ... Nobody has been treated ever in history so badly as those people,” President Trump said at a rally in Iowa on Jan. 5, where he pledged to pardon a “large portion” of imprisoned Jan. 6 defendants.
The former president has said on several occasions that he thinks some Jan. 6 detainees are being mistreated by the Biden administration and has vowed to issue pardons for many of them.
‘Prosecutorial Discretion’
Nearly two-thirds of the 890-plus convicted Jan. 6 participants have received some time in prison.
Matt Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia who is leading the ongoing Jan. 6 prosecutions alongside special counsel Jack Smith, said in recent weeks that the DOJ had so far focused its prosecutorial efforts mostly on those who entered the Capitol or took part in violent acts in and around the building.
“We have used our prosecutorial discretion to primarily focus on those who enter the building or those who engaged in violent or corrupt conduct on Capitol grounds,” Mr. Graves said.
“But if a person knowingly entered a restricted area without authorization, they have already committed a federal crime,” he continued.
“Make no mistake, thousands of people occupied an area that they were not authorized to be present in,” he added.
In light of Mr. Garland’s remarks that the DOJ would continue to hunt down “all Jan. 6 perpetrators” whether or not they were at the Capitol that day, Mr. Graves’s statements reinforce the view that prosecutors intend to expand their dragnet to people who never entered the building.
While the Biden administration seems intent on broadening its hunt of Jan. 6 suspects, a former attorney general said he thinks things have already gone too far.
However, Mr. Barr said he believes the DOJ has already cast its Jan. 6 prosecutorial net too widely.
“There were people that should have been prosecuted,” Mr. Barr said. “But I think they cast their net far too broadly.”
