As images of last week’s Capitol breach by pro-Trump supporters flooded screens across America, many noted their treatment by law enforcement. Spectators, marking the lack of police involvement, coupled with footage of officers taking selfies with rioters – quickly observed the difference in police response to the treatment of Black Lives Matter protestors this past summer.
Last Thursday, President-Elect Joe Biden joined the voices of many other activists and politicians in a tweet stating "No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protestors yesterday that they wouldn’t have been treated very differently than the mob that stormed the Capitol. We all know that’s true — and it’s unacceptable."
A YouGov poll conducted January 8 – 11 of 18,900 US adults shows that two-thirds (66%) of Americans agree with the President-Elect's statement. Half (54%) of Americans strongly agree with Biden’s statement, while 12% somewhat agree that a group of Black Lives Matter protestors would have been treated very differently than the pro-Trump supporters who breached the Capitol.
A majority of Democrats (91%) agree with Biden’s statement, compared to three in five (61%) Independents, and 30% of Republicans. Republicans (60%) are more likely to disagree with Biden’s tweet than Independents (28%) and Democrats (5%).
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Methodology: 5,718 US adults aged 18+ were asked “President-Elect Joe Biden tweeted on Thursday, "No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protestors yesterday that they wouldn’t have been treated very differently than the mob that stormed the Capitol. We all know that’s true — and it’s unacceptable." Do you agree or disagree with this statement?” The survey was conducted between January 8 – 11, 2021. The responding sample is weighted to provide a representative sample of the United States.
Image: Getty
