Defending democracy? I got gassed; D.C. rioters didn’t

I watched on Wednesday as thousands of protesters gathered in Washington, D.C., getting uncomfortably close to the Capitol, where lawmakers had gathered to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s win.

I stood in front of my television, waiting for the police to deploy tear gas to push back rioters who swarmed the bleachers set up for the inauguration in two weeks. I watched for the tell-tale white and yellow clouds.

I had been in downtown Phoenix in 2017, watching protesters outside the Phoenix Convention Center, where President Donald Trump was speaking. Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. My throat was on fire. My eyes burned. Tears streamed down my face.

Without warning, it seemed, the police had fired pepper spray and then tear gas into the crowd. The air filled with that yellow and white cloud.

I coughed so hard I retched onto the sidewalk.

I called my news director to tell him what was happening, coughing into the phone. He asked if I was safe and could I get back to the newsroom? Could I see anyone else? We had at least a dozen reporters and photographers out there.

And then came ear-splitting booms, the sound echoing off the buildings making it hard to tell where it was coming from. Was it gunshots?

People screamed for friends and family, the terror in their voices real.

And then there was another boom and a flash of light. Police were throwing flash-bang grenades.

It was a scene we’ve seen repeatedly during political protests and racial-equality demonstrations across the country.

But it didn’t happen outside the Capitol on Wednesday, not until rioters broke barriers, pushed past police and entered the building, smashing windows and vandalizing offices.

Why were there so few police there, knowing what was planned? Why weren’t more called in as the mob grew at Trump’s urging? Why wasn’t tear gas — so readily deployed in lesser, peaceful moments — used to stop the rioters?

Isn’t our democracy worth defending?