As violent mobs of rioters swarmed into the U.S. Capitol, breaching the chambers of Congress and the Senate, Fox News seemed to have at least some [1] grasp of the situation. Sort of. Newsmax host John Basile, on the other hand, heaped blame on Antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters, The Daily Beast [1] reports. After noting that Washington D.C. is now under a city-wide curfew, he had this to say:
“So that you have a complete picture of what’s going on, the last couple of times we’ve seen these rallies, it hasn’t just been the president’s supporters. We have seen Antifa, we have seen Black Lives Matter, we have seen other leftist groups that have tried to stir up violence.”
Of course, he provided no evidence for this and seemed entirely on board with White House correspondent Emerald Robinson, who also smeared activists from both groups.
“That’s a great point Tom because I am hearing from some people on the ground that there is a question of, if Antifa has infiltrated the Trump rally-goers and are fomenting some kind of unrest,” Robinson said baselessly. “So that that is conversations that’s being had outside these doors.”
Reporters in the mainstream media have different takes on this and most note the huge difference between law enforcement’s treatment of the unruly, violent mob and the response [2] to Black Lives Matter protesters who were met with tear gas in Washington last summer, just as President Donald Trump was getting ready to speak and call himself the ‘law and order president.
Flash-bang grenades and army helicopters were used to intimidate peaceful protesters and cops in riot gear moved in, charging the crowd and swinging their batons and firing tear gas canisters.
But that was largely not the case as the surly mob spilled into the Capitol chambers, forcing Congress to evacuate parts of the building in the midst of affirming President-elect Joe Biden won the November presidential election. Law enforcement did draw guns at one point and a woman was shot inside the Capitol and later died, Yahoo! News [2] reports.
WATCH:
Newsmax anchor and White House correspondent suggest Antifa may have infiltrated the violent pro-Trump protesters at the Capitol pic.twitter.com/tIXn5fRhIN [3]
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) January 6, 2021 [4]
This is also the false narrative that’s currently being spread on social media:
just prepare yourself for today’s narrative pic.twitter.com/jNn8XKQxP8 [5]
— grace spelman: totally exonerated, no wrongdoing (@GraceSpelman) January 6, 2021 [6]