On Wednesday, October 18, hundreds of angry protesters stormed the federal capitol to express their opposition to US support for Israel amidst the new escalation in Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza region. The scene reminded of January 6 when Americans walked inside the capitol to protest the election fraud in 2020 – a protest termed “insurrection” by the left and its allies in media.
Videos of the protesters getting arrested inside the capitol building started appearing on social media as the protest was underway. According to Independent Journal Review (IJR), nearly 300 people inside the Cannon House Office Building were arrested by the U.S. Capitol Police. Conservative journalist and commentator Elijah Schaffer commented that the protesters should face domestic terrorism charges and be locked up for 17 years to life in prison.
Breitbart and conservative voices on social media have termed it an insurrection and called out the double standards of the left for sugarcoating the incident. Breitbart reported on the incident with the headline “Pro-Palestinian Insurrectionists Occupy Federal House Office Building in Washington DC” and pointed out that Michigan Democrat Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is a Muslim from a Palestinian family, was leading the protest.
One conservative MAGA Twitter account posted images of Rashida Tlaib’s speech and the capitol building filled with protesters calling it an insurrection according to the standards set by Nancy Pelosi after January 6.
MAGA conservative Laura Loomer, a Jewish journalist from Florida, posted the picture of Republican Congressman Randy Weber of Texas holding his sign showing support for Israel vandalized by the pro-Palestine protesters and asked whether these “rabid jihadists” would be prosecuted for “vandalism & seditious conspiracy.”
However, leftist media quickly came to the defense of the pro-Palestinian protesters and argued that it doesn’t pass for an insurrection because it was at the Cannon House Office Building – not really at the capitol – and it was peaceful unlike the January 6 protest. Conservatives were quick to answer this defense of the October 18 protesters and reminded that the building in question is part of the federal capitol.
“For the Community Notes wiseass: the Cannon Building is still part of the Capital Building Complex. The same rules that apply to the J6 defendants should apply here.”
The leftist voices arguing that the building was open to the public at the time did not explain why the police arrested hundreds of them if they were not in violation of the law.