President-elect Joe Biden said the treatment of the rioters at the Capitol insurrection on Wednesday and of Black Lives Matter protesters last year revealed a blatant double standard in how law enforcement responded to the two groups.
“Not only did we see the failure to protect one of the three branches of our government, we also saw a clear failure to carry out equal justice,” Biden said in Wilmington on Thursday.
Biden went on to recall receiving a text from his granddaughter showing an image of scores of armed officers on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer.
“She said ‘Pop, this isn’t fair,’ ” Biden said. “No one can tell me that if that had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol.”
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris also addressed the issue in her remarks.
“The challenge we are facing in our country is about more than the actions of the few we watched yesterday,” Harris said. “It’s about how to reform, how to transform a justice system that does not work equally for all. A justice system that is experienced differently depending on whether you are white or Black.
“We witnessed two systems of justice when we saw one that let extremists storm the United States Capitol and another that released tear gas on peaceful protesters last summer,” she continued. “The American people have expressed, rightly, outrage. We know this is unacceptable.”
The remarks came before Biden introduced his Justice Department nominees on Thursday. It was revealed on Wednesday that Biden would nominate Judge Merrick Garland for attorney general, but the news was quickly overshadowed by the mobs that descended on the Capitol.
Four people died and 69 people were arrested as a result of Wednesday’s events.
The rioters broke glass and barriers at the building, vandalizing halls and offices. Vice President Pence and lawmakers were present at the Capitol for the certification of the Electoral College vote, which was halted amid the chaos.
Biden’s Electoral College win was made official after lawmakers resumed their business later that night.