As the FBI continues to arrest dozens of people allegedly involved in the Capitol Building riot earlier this month ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, it was just four years ago when similar rioting took place throughout Washington, D.C., as newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump began his term.
Only then, instead of right-wing protesters, it was a riot dominated by supporters of anarchist groups like Antifa and left-wing organizations including Black Lives Matter.
Video footage that was taken the morning of Trump’s inaugural shows black-clad mobs occupying streets, smashing storefront windows, attacking police officers, overturning trash cans, and generally causing mayhem in protest of what they perceived as a stolen election.
Reports at the time noted that more than 214 people were indicted on felony rioting charges.
“On the morning of January 20, protests over Donald Trump’s inauguration turned violent when black-clad ‘anti-fascist’ protesters smashed storefronts and bus stops, hammered out the windows of a limousine, and eventually launched rocks at a phalanx of police,” CNN reported Feb. 22, 2017.
The network reported that police were forced to respond to the throngs of rioters with flash-bangs and other crowd control devices. Six police officers were reportedly injured; 230 people were arrested on Inauguration Day.
Felony rioting, CNN noted, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $25,000.
“The indictment accuses the defendants of using a tactic called ‘Black Bloc’ in which people conceal their identities with dark or black clothing and accessories such as scarves, sunglasses, helmets, and masks,” the network added.
Some rioters assaulted a limo driver and destroyed a government vehicle.
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This bears remembering.