I assume you're being downvoted for low effort, because you're not wrong. That said, public perception is driven by media presentation, and the media dialed the hysteria knob to 11 in the aftermath of the Capitol Riot. It's honestly the most blatant propaganda that I've ever observed in American media.
How many people read those 'FIVE DEAD IN CAPITAL RIOTS' headlines, read the vague articles expressing dread at 'right wing violence', and went away thinking that the protesters had been committing murder? The truth, of course, was that only one person died a violent death during the riot, and it was at the hands of the capitol police. The other folks died of heart attacks and strokes! The fact that the (geriatric) body count was used to sew FUD about right-wing violence was and is absolutely astounding.
How many people still think that two capital police officers were killed by rioters? The media went out of their way to state (and later to merely imply) that Officer Hodges had been crushed to death by a crowd as they tried to enter the building, and that Officer Sickwick had sustained mortal injuries during the riot--neither of which was true. Hodges is alive and well, and Sickwick died of a stroke the next day. The media went on spinning the Sickwick lie as his body layed in state, and on and on for many months after the attack.
Unsurprisingly, the fact checkers did what they do as well, bending over backwards to support the 'armed' in 'armed insurrection' by counting up the pocket knives and pointing out that *one* of the rioters had a handgun[0]! In a nation containing >150 million firearms, and in an era when folks are regularly attending protests whilst armed to the teeth, it's pretty clear that these protesters went out of their way to leave their weapons at home.
The real kicker, IMO, is that if you were following the news in real time, you would have noticed that the rage surrounding the incident presented a stark contradiction to the current narrative. On social media, the lefties couldn't decide whether their rage should be directed at the protesters (who, having broken several prestigious windows, were naturally being hailed as 'TERRORISTS' in a twitter trend), or at the capital police, many of whom were captured on video while contradicting the 'coup' narrative--smiling, opening doors for protesters, and helping feeble old insurrectionists down the capital steps!
I certainly agree that it was a violent riot. I was arguing against the silly idea that it was an attempted coup d'etat. The gp (which called it a coup) was flagged, and the parent comment was heavily edited, so there is a lot of missing context here.
Your post has a few things wrong. People don't have to die for violence to happen. I believe you are correct that the coroner eventually declared Officer Sickwick's death was unrelated but that doesn't change the fact that he and other officers were attacked. You also seem to think that because some officers aided some protestors that proves all of the protestors weren't violent.
There are plenty of weapons out there that aren't firearms. You can be armed and not carrying a gun. While I'd agree that many of the injuries are consistent with a large crowd there are also documented cases of people in the crowd using weapons like tasers, pepper spray, and a flag pole. There are lots of pictures of zip tie cuffs being carried in the capital buildings. How often do you hear about people going to a peaceful protest expecting to capture prisoners? You need a license to carry a firearm in DC. It shouldn't be surprising that in a protest made up of people from outside DC you wouldn't have many people who have the right license. Flying with a gun is also a PITA so that's another reason some people who travelled to the protest may not have brought their guns with them.
Finally, there was at least one group that set up a cache of guns offsite so that they could ferry them in if needed [0].
I think we're largely in agreement. My intent wasn't to argue that the riot wasn't violent, it was to argue that it was a) not as bad as it was made out to be, and b) clearly not a coup attempt. The GP has been flagged and the parent comment heavily edited, so the original context is lost.
How many people read those 'FIVE DEAD IN CAPITAL RIOTS' headlines, read the vague articles expressing dread at 'right wing violence', and went away thinking that the protesters had been committing murder? The truth, of course, was that only one person died a violent death during the riot, and it was at the hands of the capitol police. The other folks died of heart attacks and strokes! The fact that the (geriatric) body count was used to sew FUD about right-wing violence was and is absolutely astounding.
How many people still think that two capital police officers were killed by rioters? The media went out of their way to state (and later to merely imply) that Officer Hodges had been crushed to death by a crowd as they tried to enter the building, and that Officer Sickwick had sustained mortal injuries during the riot--neither of which was true. Hodges is alive and well, and Sickwick died of a stroke the next day. The media went on spinning the Sickwick lie as his body layed in state, and on and on for many months after the attack.
Unsurprisingly, the fact checkers did what they do as well, bending over backwards to support the 'armed' in 'armed insurrection' by counting up the pocket knives and pointing out that *one* of the rioters had a handgun[0]! In a nation containing >150 million firearms, and in an era when folks are regularly attending protests whilst armed to the teeth, it's pretty clear that these protesters went out of their way to leave their weapons at home.
The real kicker, IMO, is that if you were following the news in real time, you would have noticed that the rage surrounding the incident presented a stark contradiction to the current narrative. On social media, the lefties couldn't decide whether their rage should be directed at the protesters (who, having broken several prestigious windows, were naturally being hailed as 'TERRORISTS' in a twitter trend), or at the capital police, many of whom were captured on video while contradicting the 'coup' narrative--smiling, opening doors for protesters, and helping feeble old insurrectionists down the capital steps!
[0]https://www.factcheck.org/2021/03/capitol-protesters-were-ar... [1]https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/brian-sic...