GOP Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert demands Justice Department explain why Capitol rioters are being charged and jailed while BLM rioters who attacked federal buildings are NOT
Outspoken Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado is among a group of House Republicans demanding the Justice Department explain what lawmakers say is different treatment of the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill rioters compared with those who attacked federal buildings during Black Lives Matter protests last year in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis.
In a letter, Boebert and 10 other Republican representatives asked US Attorney General Merrick Garland address what they called an 'inconsistent application of the law with respect to rioters across the country.'
The letter claims Oregon prosecutors have signed off on at least a dozen 'deferred resolution agreements in federal felony cases' from clashes in last year's BLM protests, while some Capitol rioters have been held in solitary confinement.
During the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot, participants clashed with Capitol police
An Associated Press photographer is shown being assaulted by rioters at the Capitol
Protestors flooded the streets throughout the nation in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd in May in Minneapolis. Protestors can be seen here in Chicago
Some of the BLM protests turned violent and destructive as a protest in Atlanta led to a fire at a local Wendy's on June, 13, 2020
U.S. Rep Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, led 10 other House Republicans demanding Capital Hill rioters be treated the same as BLM rioters
“The foundation of our criminal justice system requires that all defendants are treated equally before the law, but the Biden regime is not living up to this solemn obligation,” Boebert said in a statement.
Also signing on to Boebert's letter were were Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Bob Good of Virginia, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Jody Hice of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and W. Gregory Steube of Florida.
While some of those involved in the Jan. 6 riots are not in prison, dozens are being held in the Washington D.C. jail awaiting their trial, The Guardian reports.
Lawyer Joseph McBride, who represents Richard 'Bigo' Barnett, 60, of Arkansas - the man known for posing for a picture with his feet up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk - claimed that the guards are 'roughing up' the siege suspects to show solidarity with law enforcement who protected the Capitol.
They also claimed to be confined in cells the 'size of a walk-in closets' for up 24 hours a day and say they are being treated like 'domestic terrorists.'
As of July 16, a total of 581 people have been arrested and charged so far, according to Insider Inc.
During the BLM protests last year, dozens of federal buildings were vandalized and law enforcement agents were injured during the more violent outburst.
Seven men in Portland, Oregon, where the protests became especially heated, face federal charges for defacing a federal courthouse and assaulting federal officers last July, CBS reported this month.
Protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, set fire to a building on Aug. 24, 2020
The Capitol Hill mob tries to force their way into the building on Jan. 6
The rioters scaled the west wall of the building, breaking windows and doors as they stormed their way inside
Nearly 10,000 people were reportedly arrested during the height of the BLM protests.
However, the vast majority of charges against those protestors were dropped.
