Jan. 6, 2021

To the Editor:

I am astonished whenever I see statements comparing the protests of 1/6/21 to the events of 9/11/01 when nearly 3,000 Americans were killed and two NYC blocks were pulverized by terrorists.

On 1/6, the only person killed inside the Capitol was an unarmed female, shot by a renegade Capitol Police officer. Yes, many broke laws including breaking windows and trespassing on government property, and several folks got banged up in the scuffles. But there was no evidence of a conspiracy to hurt even one American. And though unarmed, the protestors who violated the law should be punished. But putting them in solitary confinement for as much as a year before they even get a hearing is not justice.

There were more people killed and injured and much more damage done to state and federal buildings during the Blm/antifa riots in the summer of 2020. Very few protestors were arrested, none were put in solitary confinement and no one received serious jail time. The FBI did not enlist the phone, credit card and social media companies to track down anyone who might have traveled to the sites of those riots as they have done following the events of 1/6.

No one on the Left wants to hear the whole story of 1/6. No one on the Left wants to admit that most of the folks at the Capitol that day were peaceful. No one on the Left wants to hear that Nancy Pelosi turned down Trump’s offer to send the National Guard to help with crowd control. No one on the Left wants to learn that the Capitol Police were unprepared and were evidently willing to show folks around the Capitol that day.

The full release of the security tapes is called transparency.

Jim Costello

Sonora