The January 6th Capitol riot has been condemned by Republicans, including President Trump. It was one violent event, in one location, on a single day—four years ago.
Yet Democrats and liberal media figures now use it to justify or deflect from every other act of political violence, past and present.
They’ve memory-holed the June 14, 2017, shooting of Republican lawmakers during a baseball practice. Meanwhile, prominent Democrats and liberal Hollywood personalities excused—and in some cases supported—the Black Lives Matter riots, which raged night after night across multiple cities for months.
During the violent George Floyd protests in 2020, which destroyed thousands of businesses nationwide, Kamala Harris openly supported the movement. She encouraged donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a bail fund that helped release arrested protesters. On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that June, she stated:
“They’re not going to stop. And everyone beware because they’re not going to stop… they’re not going to stop before Election Day in November, and they’re not going to stop after Election Day… they should not, and we should not.”
And of course, there was the infamous quote, “Well, at least no one went hungry tonight,” offered in apparent justification for the destruction and looting.
During the January 6th riot, protestors killed no one. Despite this, the media ran misleading headlines claiming the protest resulted in four deaths. In reality, two of those deaths were medical emergencies involving protestors who died of natural causes.
One was Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed woman who was shot and killed by Capitol Police. The fourth was Officer Brian Sicknick, whose death occurred the following day and was officially attributed to natural causes. The medical examiner’s report clearly stated:
“Officer Brian Sicknick died the next day of natural causes unrelated to any injuries sustained during the riot.”
It’s an unfortunate but statistically consistent fact that in any large gathering of people, some will experience medical emergencies or even death, entirely unrelated to the purpose of the event itself.
For example, a retrospective study of 405 major concerts with over 4.6 million attendees recorded 1,492 people seeking medical attention—about 3.2 per 10,000 attendees.
Most were trauma-related, and there were even four cardiac arrests at classical music concerts. Between 1999 and 2014, 722 deaths were reported at music festivals.
These statistics demonstrate a simple truth: when large numbers of people gather in one place, medical emergencies and even fatalities are a predictable statistical occurrence.
Trump’s critics often blame him for allegedly inciting the January 6th riot. However, no evidence—no sound bite, document, public statement, or secret recording—has been discovered linking him to the violence.
In fact, media clips that are frequently played often omit the parts where he explicitly told supporters to protest peacefully and later condemned the violence.
This selective editing is similar to how Trump’s remarks following the Charlottesville incident have been misrepresented.
The media repeatedly quotes him saying there were “some very good people on both sides,” portraying it as praise of Nazis.
But that interpretation ignores both the context and the full statement. Trump was referring to the broader debate over removing Confederate statues—not endorsing extremists. And he made a clear distinction, adding:
“I’m not talking about the Neo-Nazis and white supremacists, because they should be condemned totally.”
Calling his statement “praise of Nazis” not only misrepresents what he said but also wrongly assumes that everyone opposed to statue removal was a white supremacist, which is simply not true.
While January 6th is repeatedly cited as the pinnacle of political violence, arguably the most violent single day in recent memory was the June 14, 2017 shooting of Republican lawmakers during a practice for the annual Congressional Baseball Game in Alexandria, Virginia.
James Hodgkinson, a left-wing activist with a history of domestic violence and strong anti-Republican views, opened fire on GOP members of Congress, critically injuring House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, as well as wounding a Capitol Police officer, a congressional aide, and a lobbyist.
A ten-minute shootout followed before Hodgkinson was shot by police; he later died from his wounds.
Scalise was shot in the hip, suffered severe bleeding, and required multiple surgeries, followed by months of recovery before returning to Congress. Despite the attack, the game proceeded the next day as a show of unity.
It drew over 20,000 attendees and raised more than $1 million for charity. Capitol Police officer David Bailey, also injured in the attack, threw out the first pitch to a standing ovation.
The Virginia Attorney General later called the shooting “an act of terrorism… fueled by rage against Republican legislators.”
Yet some Democrats downplayed the attack or implied Republicans had brought it on themselves—an absurd notion. The blame lies solely with those committing violence, and with those who excuse or enable it.
More recently, attacks on Tesla dealerships are occurring almost daily, with some liberals and Democrats openly calling for or applauding the violence. President Trump accurately labeled these acts as terrorism—defined as violence or threats of violence used to achieve political change.
Instead of condemning the attacks, the media and the left claim Trump’s response is an abuse of power, accusing him of using the DOJ to protect Elon Musk’s private business interests.
Once again, they deflect by invoking January 6th as evidence of a double standard.
But Trump is right: the Tesla attacks fit the textbook definition of terrorism. And his critics are also inadvertently correct—there is a double standard. Conservatives have condemned the January 6th riot repeatedly.
Neither Trump nor any Republican member of Congress called for it. In contrast, elected Democrats openly supported the BLM riots, and now figures like AOC are cheering on the violence against Tesla.
The left has a long history of political violence in the U.S., but any mention of it is immediately met with, “What about January 6th?” One act of violence doesn’t justify another.
Yet today’s left argues that a single incident from four years ago excuses every act of violence before and since—a position that’s both dangerous and absurd.
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