The line between peaceful protest (as outlined by the First Amendment) and riot was blurred last summer when mobs angered by the death of George Floyd set fires and wreaked havoc in several American cities. The mainstream media and Democrats in Congress were content to brand the protest as “mostly peaceful” despite the fact billions of dollars in damages were sustained and several dozen lives were lost.
Then came the events of Jan. 6 when Trump supporters descended on the Capitol to protest the outcome of the 2020 election. While the bulk of the protesters remained outside the building, many of them penetrated the interior. This time the same news outlets and Democratic leaders who had excused BLM’s and Antifa’s behavior cried “insurrection.”
So how do we classify the latest demonstration, which occurred yesterday when a mob of climate activists blockaded all ten entrances to the White House? The group, which calls itself the Sunshine Movement, describes its own actions in a tweet.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Today we showed up to @JoeBiden’s doorstep with 500+ people and blockaded every entrance to the white house, demanding that he include a fully funded #CivilianClimateCorps in his infrastructure bill.
Secret Service then arrested dozens of us. pic.twitter.com/hpBSrhnhF1
— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) June 28, 2021
This time there was one important difference. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — perhaps to make up for her having been nowhere near the Capitol when the Jan. 6 riots occurred — joined the activists in demanding that Joe Biden accede to their demands. Ultimately, a number of arrests were made, all of which raises the question: How is this not another insurrection? Granted, no one breached the White House, but surely people inside felt apprehensive knowing a mob was at the door. Or do Democrats feel trepidation only on the rare occasion that demonstrators are Republicans?
