Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said Tuesday that law enforcement’s response to the ongoing left-wing riots in Portland, Oregon, compared to the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol “clearly” shows a “racial and political divide.”
“Testimony today on the Hill evidences that in the Portland protests, a thousand people were arrested,” the Texas Democrat tweeted. “People protesting against the violence that was evidenced in the George Floyd murder. People wanting good things to happen.
“In Washington DC, on January 6th, where it is alleged that 40,000 protesters were in DC with the mindset to overturn a legitimate election and to kill the Speaker, the Vice President, and Members of Congress, in that instance, only 300 persons have now been arrested and are being prosecuted,” Ms. Jackson Lee continued. “What kind of justice is that? How clearly does that show a racial and political divide where protestors who want to overthrow the government who were the supporters of the former president and exhibited acts of racism were barely prosecuted and barely arrested?
“The FBI failed to provide detailed information to law enforcement that needed to have such information so that a stronger response could have occurred against those who were intending to do the seat of democracy harm and to kill the people inside,” she added.
Critics were quick to point out that tens of thousands of Trump supporters rallied in Washington, D.C., without setting foot inside the Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot. Prosecutors have charged more than 300 people for their alleged involvement and more are expected.
In Portland, more than 1,000 protesters were reportedly arrested over the course of five months last year following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd that spurred the Defund the Police movement across the country. Riots continue in Portland to this day and are mostly led by Antifa, the so-called “anti-fascist” movement that is predominantly White.
At least two people were arrested over the weekend after Antifa members smashed the storefronts of multiple businesses, reportedly demonstrating against the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
