With all the chaos occurring at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark, New Jersey, in recent days, it’s worth recalling that this is the anniversary of leftist rioters trying to storm the White House while President Donald Trump was there.
Secret Service, in fact, rushed Trump to a bunker underneath the White House for his safety, Fox Business reported at the time.
The riot took place in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. What that had to do with President Trump, the head of the federal executive branch, is unclear, but since when have leftist actions had to make any sort of logical sense?
Flashback May 2020: The far-left rioters tore apart the barrier outside the White House piece by piece in an attempt to storm the building and burn it down. Many in the mob called for the president to be lynched. #CapitolRiot pic.twitter.com/krfqIRglNY
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) January 7, 2022
USA Today reported that Washington police arrested 17 people, most of whom were charged with rioting.
The Secret Service said in a May 31 statement, “Some demonstrators repeatedly attempted to knock over security barriers, and vandalized six Secret Service vehicles. Between Friday night and Sunday morning, more than 60 Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers and Special Agents sustained multiple injuries from projectiles such as bricks, rocks, bottles, fireworks and other items.”
If those rioters had gotten into the White House, would they have burned it down?
“Secret Service personnel were also directly physically assaulted as they were kicked, punched, and exposed to bodily fluids. A total of 11 injured employees were transported to a local hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.”
Flashback May 2020: A secret service officer suffered a head injury after being assaulted by BLM & far-left rioters trying to storm the White House. Dozens of other Secret Service agents were injured as well. #CapitolRiot pic.twitter.com/0RTto07AAg
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) January 7, 2022
Overall, D.C. police said 106 people were arrested in protests around the district that weekend, according to The Washington Post.
But that’s not the end of the story. The news outlet said that although “many of those arrested were charged by police with felony rioting, that charge was dropped by prosecutors in most cases.” Those prosecutors happened to be with the Department of Justice.
By contrast, federal prosecutors charged nearly 1,600 people with Jan. 6 Capitol incursion-related offenses, with over 1,200 convicted or pleading guilty to various crimes. Of these, 700 received prison sentences, according to the Associated Press.
Further, then-U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves made clear in a January 2024 news briefing that thousands of people who entered the Capitol grounds “without authorization” were also eligible to be prosecuted.
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz responded to Graves’ statement at the time, posting on X, “This is an absolute abuse of power. Biden DOJ is threatening to prosecute ‘thousands’ of people who (in his own words) did NOT commit a crime of violence & simply stood OUTSIDE Capitol. This is a political persecution of Biden enemies.”
How can one conclude anything else?
This is an absolute abuse of power. Biden DOJ is threatening to prosecute “thousands” of people who (in his own words) did NOT commit a crime of violence & simply stood OUTSIDE Capitol.
This is a political persecution of Biden enemies. Congress should FORCE Graves to testify. https://t.co/Ch1SvcpAnS
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 8, 2024
In June 2021, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and some fellow Republican lawmakers, including Cruz, sent a letter to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland questioning why the DOJ was treating the Capitol rioters so much differently from the violent so-called social justice protesters in places like the White House or Portland, Oregon.
“Property destruction stemming from the 2020 social justice protests throughout the country will reportedly result in at least $1 billion to $2 billion in paid insurance claims,” they wrote.
The lawmakers pointed to DOJ statistics finding that one federal officer was killed, 147 federal officers were injured, and 600 local officers were also wounded as a result of the 2020 riots.
Among the other questions the lawmakers had was, “How many individuals were incarcerated for allegedly committing crimes associated with protests in the spring and summer of 2020?”
The clear implication of the query was that there weren’t many when compared to Jan. 6, after which the FBI launched the biggest investigation in bureau history, according to CNN.
“I’ll kill your whole f–king family. Your whole f–king family is dead. Your children, your wife, all dead.”
A left-wing activist in Newark was caught on camera shouting those words at an unmasked ICE officer as protests outside the Delaney ICE facility turned chaotic.
Acting AG… pic.twitter.com/Dyi19NzM1h
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 29, 2026
If the left really cares about equity, as they say they do, they should have no complaints when the DOJ rounds up and charges every one of the protesters who committed crimes outside the Newark ICE facility in recent weeks.
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