How times have changed, media lovingly reports "demonstrators" at Trump inauguration-----Hundreds of rioters destroyed property, set fires during Trump's 2017 inauguration, and charges were dropped

Hundreds of rioters destroyed property, set fires during Trump's 2017 inauguration, and charges were dropped

"...As the FBI continues to arrest dozens of people allegedly involved in the Capitol Building riot earlier this month ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, it was just four years ago when similar rioting took place throughout Washington, D.C., as newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump began his term.

Only then, instead of right-wing protesters, it was a riot dominated by supporters of anarchist groups like Antifa and left-wing organizations including Black Lives Matter..

...Reports at the time noted that more than 214 people were indicted on felony rioting charges.

...Felony rioting, CNN noted, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $25,000.

• CNN went on to report that “the several hundred demonstrators who actively confronted officers were vastly outnumbered by the thousands of nonviolent protesters”...

In the end, 20 rioters pleaded guilty to charges related to violent protesting, the New York Times reported, including one person who copped to a felony and served four months in prison. After two group trials resulted in acquittals for all defendants, the government dropped charges against the rest, the Associated Press reported.

• ...“That effort saw the government facing off against an intensely coordinated grassroots political opposition network that made Washington the focus of a nationwide support campaign offering free lodging for defendants, legal coordination, and other support,” the AP added
• ...“This is huge news,” Washington-based activist Dylan Petrohilos, who was initially arrested but had his charges dropped earlier, said at the time. “The solidarity we showed as defendants won out.”
• “Solidarity was what won the case,” Sam Menefee-Libey, a member of the leftist DC Legal Posse activist collective, said. “I hope that organizers and people on the left study it.”...Read all.