Silent Scribbles

As the election has come to an end, I couldn’t help but ponder which party is actually the most violent. So here is what my research has concluded:

November 11, 2016

Information comes from USA Today

-After the election of Donald Trump, Portland, OR, started out with a peaceful protest, then an anarchist group joined and the protest turned violent. The group vandalized buildings, kicked cars, and knocked out the power. The crowd was armed with bats and threw projectiles (rocks, bottles, and flares) at police officers.

-Los Angeles, CA- also had a mostly peaceful protest, however, a few vandalized property, threw bottles, and launched fireworks.

-Denver, CO- protesters briefly shut down I-25 north and southbound for about 30 minutes.

Jan 20, 2017

Information from Reuters

Washington DC- activists clashed with police during the inauguration.

They threw bottles and rocks at officers. Protesters also threw chunks of pavement through the windows of a Bank of America and McDonald’s branch. Multiple vehicles were set on fire during the protest. 2 officers and 1 protester was injured.

In Seattle, WA, one person was shot during a demonstration at the University of Washington.

Jan 6, 2021

Info from NPR

Congress convened to certify the election results after comments from Donald Trump that the election was rigged.

Trump urged protests to stay peaceful during this time. He tweeted multiple times for the protest to remain peaceful.

People stormed the Capitol building during the certification. Biden called this an insurrection. The definition of insurrection is a violent uprising against the government. During the protest, 4 rioters died (1 shot, 1 heart attack, 1 trampled, and 1 stroke). 5 officers passed in the days, weeks, and months that followed (1 from attack and 4 suicides).

In Arizona, protesters break a window at the state capitol building.

Salem, OR, another protest turns violent. No casualties.

FB banned Trump for 24 hours after this event and he’s currently under a 2 year ban. Twitter removed all his tweets from that day, shut down his account for 12 hours, and later permanently suspended his account.

My ultimate question in all this is why is a protest that turns violent by Trump supporters an insurrection, but protests that turn violent by Democrats not an insurrection? It seems to me that supports of both parties are guilty of violence.