Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser defended her conduct in relation to rioters under questioning from Senator Ron Johnson. Bowser was asked about the stark contrast in the treatments of Antifa and BLM looters involved in the Summer riots and the Trump supporters who were arrested in relation to the events of January 6. Mayor Bowser is a very active supporter of the BLM cause and the associated protests which took place in 2020.
D.C. mayor protects Summer rioters
Muriel last year embraced protests in D.C. by creating a “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” This came as the city faced widespread looting and burning from marauding leftist rioters.
Like many other cities, D.C. has done everything it possibly can to ensure that most of these rioters never face justice.
Muriel and other officials are as devoted to protecting their rioters from prosecution as they are enthusiastic about tracking down anyone remotely involved in protesting the election results on January 6.
Asked by Senator Johnson, Muriel could only acknowledge that “dozens” of arrests have been made in D.C. in relation to the looting and arson attacks.
Muriel claimed that she did not know if any rioters are still being detained for their participation in the Summer riots in D.C.
She also stated that Johnson would need to ask the FBI for answers when questioned about how many rioters had been tracked to their home states and arrested.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) pushes DC Mayor Muriel Bowser about treatment of BLM protesters and Capitol insurrectionists:
“Did we go and arrest people who participated in the summer riots in their individual states, like we did with the January 6th breachers?” pic.twitter.com/RGeJ6Yx9YX
— The Recount (@therecount) June 22, 2021
Harsh treatment for Trump supporters
Trump supporters have been relentlessly pursued by federal law enforcement agencies for participating in the January 6 protest, while the far more widespread Summer riots have still resulted in only a few arrests and a handful of convictions.
Prisoners and their lawyers have compared conditions in their D.C. prison to the treatment of Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
They report that it is typical to be held in solitary confinement for up to 24 hours a day in cramped cells and that prisoners are rarely allowed to speak to each other or to their lawyers and families.
One man was allegedly beaten so severely by guards that he nearly lost an eye and did not regain consciousness until the next day. His lawyer says that he was then denied adequate medical treatment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the detained Trump supporters as political prisoners being held by what he described as a hypocritical Biden regime which is attacking other nations for their treatment of political dissidents while behaving no better domestically.
Antifa and BLM rioters arrested in D.C. and elsewhere have, on the other hand, been generally released quickly or given extremely light sentences, when they have been arrested at all.
