KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Comparisons are being made in the law enforcement response to Trump supporters and Black Live Matter demonstrators.
The comparisons come after a large group of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building while Congress was certifying the electoral college results for the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6.
The group rioted inside the Capitol, forcing lawmakers and others inside to evacuate. One rioter was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer.
President-elect Joe Biden talked about how police responded to the rioters on Wednesday.
"No one can tell me that had that been Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they would have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the capitol," Biden said.
During the summer of 2020, Black Lives Matter protests were held in cities across the country after the police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In many cities, including Kansas City, the protest evolved into unrest, with police using tear gas and other tools to restore control.
Kansas City community activist Justice Horn said there was a double standard in the treatment.
"Every protest should be treated the same. Every issue should be treated the same and every person exercising their right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly without violence should be treated the same," Horn said.
Horn said the difference in treatment can be traced to deeper issues.
"Not only racial biases, but long-standing generational views of the Black community that we are not only safely protesting, but anything we do is seen as a threat to other people. But as white people protesting, it's an act of patriotic and being American and uplifting and challenging and battling for your rights. But when we do it, it looks like we're criminals, we're thugs and that we're out of control," he said.
Horn explained he doesn't want Trump supporters to face similar treatment experienced during Black Lives Matter demonstrations, but he wants equal treatment.
"We're just asking that protect and serve really mean everyone in the community and in this country," he said.
