On Jan. 6, terrorists rioted the Capitol building. Yes, they were terrorists, not protestors.

To everyone who thinks the protests are interchangeable with terrorism, it is not. The FBI defines domestic terrorism as violent, criminal acts done by a person or group for ideological goals that stem from domestic influences, like the political nature. 

This describes the Capitol riot startlingly well: people broke into the Capitol, destroyed federal property and beat police officers. The same people preaching Blue Lives Matter beat an officer with a fire extinguisher and he is now dead.

But there was more planned, like killing Vice-President Mike Pence and the police found two pipe bombs, according to The Atlantic.

Compare these actions to the Black Lives Matter protests. More than 93% of Black Lives Matter protests were peaceful, according to Time Magazine. The Black Lives Matter movement protested police brutality while these white supremacists rioted over a fair election. 

You would think that since one event was more dangerous than the other they would be handled accordingly, but you would be wrong.

A Black Lives Matter protester told NPR, “People who were just out there to protest — to make sure our voice is being heard — as soon as they were getting even close to a building or even close to a police officer, they were instantly tear-gassing and they were shooting rubber bullets.”

The White supremacist riots were welcomed with open arms, literally. Many rioters were armed and one rioter carried zip ties. The police response? Many responded with little resistance and took selfies, according to NBC News.

While Black Lives Matter fights for equality, the riot fights for an election lost fairly. The only difference the police seem to see is that one group is white and the other isn’t, and that warrants when force is used.

If these rioters were people of color, how would the police have responded? Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe sums it up perfectly.

“Oh, please. We don’t have to even go there. If these insurrectionists were Black, they would have been shot in the face,” Scarbarough said. “And my God, if these insurrectionists were Muslim, they would have been sniped from the top of buildings.”

The future looks grim; the group does not plan to stop with this event, claiming they are coming back on President-elect Biden’s inauguration, according to The Atlantic. These terrorists nonchalantly declared they will attack a national event and President Trump referred to them as “patriots” in a tweet on Jan. 6.

Our president invited terrorists to the Capitol, and politicians are furious.

The House impeached President Trump for the second time, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Democratic politicians made it clear this is not the only thing he has done, but it is the breaking point. When I first heard this I was ecstatic. The impeachment would mean he would not receive the benefits that presidents get after leaving office and he would not be able to run as president again. 

But I was a little disappointed. Why did this have to be a breaking point? Why could it not be when he made a Muslim Ban? Why could it not be when he made the Zero-Tolerance Policy, separating hundreds of families on the border? Why did we wait for him to start a mob when he gave signs of his capability as soon as he became president?

The politicians’ response to the riot parallels students to a school shooting. The only difference being politicians are putting in effort now. When the students that survived the Florida school shooting confronted politicians about more gun restrictions, they were denied by Republicans in Congress according to Reuters. But now that politicians dealt with the trauma of a shooting they are deciding to take action.