Capitol security response reveals double standard

The security breakdown at the Capitol on Wednesday highlights the racial discrimination that permeates law enforcement handling of protests.

Simply put, had the protesters who marched on the building been people of color the police presence and show of force likely would have been swift and harsh. We saw that when a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration in Washington, D.C., on June 2 was met with a phalanx of armed D.C. National Guard blocking the steps of the Lincoln Memorial following George Floyd’s death.

But when a deadly mob of White, radical, right-wing rioters showed up at the Capitol on Wednesday, the police presence was minimal and outmatched, opening the door to the chaos that resulted. And the repercussions thus far for those who trashed the halls of Congress have been nominal, at best.

The breach should prompt Congress to examine how it happened and should trigger law enforcement across the country to review crowdcontrol policies to ensure that protesters of all races are treated equally. Police response should be based on the threat to public safety and property, not the color of demonstrators’ skin.

In Washington, the resignation of three top security officials announced Thursday was warranted. The Capitol Police chief and the House and Senate sergeantsat- arms, despite a budget of more than $460 million and 2,000 officers at their disposal, failed at their primary mission of protecting a citadel of our democracy and ensuring the safety of our elected representatives.

It’s especially egregious that law enforcement officials did so little despite clear indications on far-right social media of rioters’ plans to storm and take control of the Capitol — with violence, if necessary.

The New York Times reported that six days before the Capitol breach, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-los Angeles, asked Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund about his preparations for various scenarios and whether he knew potentially violent groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers were promising chaos.

Sund’s strategy not only allowed the breach that followed, but also resulted in few arrests out of the hundreds who stormed the Capitol. Most of the rioters who vandalized the House and Senate chambers were simply escorted out of the building. Some Capitol police were even photographed taking selfies with them during the break-in.

President- elect Joe Biden was right when he said that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesters, they would “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.”

Currently, the response sets a dangerous precedent. It’s foolish to think that the right-wing extremists who stormed Washington with near-zero repercussions will simply go home and give up on their misguided belief that the presidential election was stolen from President Trump.

Law enforcement officials must arrest and prosecute as many as possible of those who illegally entered and vandalized the Capitol. They must send a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated.

Then law enforcement officials across the country should thoroughly reexamine their strategies for responding to protests, including racial bias in how they make assessments of the level of expected violence.

It’s past time to put an end to excessive fears of Black and Brown protesters while downplaying the potential for violence by White demonstrators.