Sunday, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) commented on the possible defense of President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial to equate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol to the riots that took place during Black Lives Matter protests.
Jeffries said on MSNBC “The Sunday Show” that such an argument would be a “false equivalence.” He then wondered how the two could be compared when the Black Lives Matter protests were peaceful 93 percent of the time and “consistent with the First Amendment” whereas the Capitol riot was “incited” by Trump.
“[I]t’s absolutely ridiculous, but it’s not surprising,” Jeffries advised. “It’s a false equivalence, and I believe it will be an attempt to engage in vicious race-baiting. The notion that you are going to equate some sporadic instances of civil unrest … how can you compare that to a violent attack on the Capitol when the president at the time summoned the mob to Washington, D.C., then incited the mob, and then directed the mob to march on the Capitol as part of an insurrection to halt the peaceful transfer of power, undermine our democracy, and resulting in the deaths of several Americans, including Officer Sicknick. The two cannot be compared, and it shows the weakness of the argument that President Trump should be acquitted. He should not. He should be convicted.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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