If the Capitol mob had been Black? Most Americans say the police would have been harsher

By a wide margin, Americans say the police response to the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol would have been harsher if the rioters had been mostly Black rather than mostly white, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds. A 55% majority says law enforcement would have employed harsher tactics […] Read more »

The Trump-fueled riot shocked America. To some, it was a long time coming.

To countless scholars, advocates and political actors, the violent mob that stormed the halls of Congress on Jan. 6 was not exactly surprising. To some, it wasn’t a matter of whether a mob inspired by Donald Trump would kick down the doors of the Capitol, but when. “This situation, in […] Read more »

Joe Biden’s Looming War on White Supremacy

For four years, Donald Trump downplayed the risk of white-supremacist violence and denied that racial bias is pervasive in law enforcement. In a single, searing day, the assault on the U.S. Capitol exposed the price of both of those choices—and may have provided Joe Biden new political momentum for reversing […] Read more »

Capitol siege raises questions over extent of white supremacist infiltration of US police

A U.S. Capitol police officer stands at a street corner near the Capitol. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Vida Johnson, Georgetown University The apparent participation of off-duty officers in the rally that morphed into a siege on the U.S. Capitol building Jan. 6 has revived fears […] Read more »

Majority say race was factor in how those who attacked Capitol were treated

A majority of Americans (54%) — and particularly Democrats and Black Americans — believe race was a factor in how law enforcement treated those who attacked the Capitol last week. And among those who feel race was a factor, they overwhelmingly (81%) feel the protesters were treated better because most […] Read more »