{"id":18713,"date":"2021-01-10T22:39:01","date_gmt":"2021-01-10T22:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theoklahomaeagle.net\/?p=18713"},"modified":"2021-01-10T22:39:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T22:39:01","slug":"these-black-capitol-police-officers-describe-fighting-off-racist-ass-terrorists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/2021\/01\/10\/these-black-capitol-police-officers-describe-fighting-off-racist-ass-terrorists\/","title":{"rendered":"These Black Capitol Police Officers Describe Fighting Off &#8220;Racist-Ass Terrorists&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/emmanuelfelton\/black-capitol-police-racism-mob?fbclid=IwAR1ND1KL6NNEqtCECKctCBqwOGjysRJrMLzLtgBAMP-cseeTH7Pi-yA3LwI\">www.buzzfeednews.com<\/a><br \/>\nBy <a class=\"news-byline-full\" href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/author\/emmanuelfelton\" data-pixiedust=\"%7B%22unit_name%22%3A%225831990%22%2C%22position_in_subunit%22%3A0%2C%22item_type%22%3A%22profile%22%2C%22item_name%22%3A%22byline%22%2C%22target_content_type%22%3A%22user%22%2C%22target_content_id%22%3A%228494314%22%2C%22data_source_name%22%3A%22%22%2C%22unit_type%22%3A%22buzz_head%22%2C%22subunit_name%22%3A%22%22%2C%22subunit_type%22%3A%22%22%7D\"><span class=\"news-byline-full__info-wrapper\"><span class=\"news-byline-full__name xs-block link-initial--text-black\">Emmanuel Felton<\/span><span class=\"news-byline-full__role xs-text-5 xs-block\">Buzz Feed News Reporter<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Two Black officers told BuzzFeed News that their chief and other upper management left them totally unprepared and were nowhere to be found on the day.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"mod-subbuzz-text-1\" class=\"subbuzz subbuzz-text xs-mb4 xs-relative \" data-module=\"subbuzz-text\">\nThe first glimpse of the deadly tragedy that was about to unfold came at 9 a.m. on the morning of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/mollyhensleyclancy\/trump-dc-maga-election-protests-capitol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">insurrection<\/a>\u00a0for one Black veteran of the US Capitol Police. But it didn\u2019t come from his superiors \u2014 instead the officer had to rely on a screenshot from Instagram sent to him by a friend.<br \/>\n\u201cI found out what they were planning when a friend of mine screenshot me an Instagram story from the Proud Boys saying, \u2018We\u2019re breaching the Capitol today, guys. I hope y\u2019all ready.\u2019\u201d The officer, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from his superiors, told BuzzFeed News that it was just a sign of the chaos that was to come, which saw officers regularly finding themselves unprepared and then outmanned and overpowered by the mob.<br \/>\nThe officer said that while the department\u2019s upper management had been telling them to prepare for Wednesday\u2019s storming of the Capitol like they would for any other protest, that Instagram post sent a clear message: this wasn\u2019t going to be just some kind of free speech protest \u2014 this was going to be a fight.<br \/>\nManagement\u2019s inaction left Black police officers especially vulnerable to a mob that had been\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/mollyhensleyclancy\/trump-dc-maga-election-protests-capitol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whipped up by President Donald Trump<\/a>, a man who has a record of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/scaachikoul\/capitol-dc-attempted-coup-riots-trump-charlottesville\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">inspiring racist vigilantes to action<\/a>. One of the most\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/stephaniemcneal\/videos-of-capitol-riot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">defining videos of that day<\/a>\u00a0was of one of their colleagues, another Black officer, trying in vain to hold back the tide of rioters who had broken into the building and were hunting for Congressional members.<br \/>\nBuzzFeed News spoke to two Black officers who described a harrowing day in which they were forced to endure racist abuse \u2014 including repeatedly being called the n-word \u2014 as they tried to do their job of protecting the Capitol building, and by extension the very functioning of American democracy. The officers said they were wrong-footed, fighting off an invading force that their managers had downplayed and not prepared them for. They had all been issued gas masks, for example, but\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/addybaird\/congress-investigate-capitol-police-riot-failures-selfies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">management didn\u2019t tell<\/a>\u00a0them to bring them in on the day. Capitol Police did not respond to BuzzFeed News\u2019 request for comment about the allegations made by officers.\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mod-tweet-1\" class=\"subbuzz subbuzz-tweet xs-mb4\" data-module=\"tweet\">\n<div id=\"126285217\" class=\"subbuzz-anchor\"><\/div>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"js-tweet__container tweet__container\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/index.html?creatorScreenName=emmanuelfelton&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1346911809274478594&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeednews.com%2Farticle%2Femmanuelfelton%2Fblack-capitol-police-racism-mob&amp;siteScreenName=BuzzFeedNews&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1346911809274478594\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"subbuzz__caption\"><span class=\"subbuzz__attribution js-subbuzz__attribution xs-text-6 xs-block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/igorbobic\/status\/1346911809274478594\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter: @igorbobic<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clearfix js-ad-placement ad-inline \">\n<div class=\"ad-wireframe-wrapper ad-wireframe-wrapper--labeled\" data-wireframe-width=\"728\" data-wireframe-height=\"90\">\n<div id=\"BF_WIDGET_211-1\" class=\"xs-relative ad-ex ad-promo-inline ad-ex--inline js-ad js-ad-211-1 ad--bfnews ad-flexible ad--loaded ad-content-ready ad-flexible--programmatic\" role=\"complementary\" data-module=\"ad-promo-inline\" data-infinite-idx=\"1\" aria-label=\"Advertisement\" data-instance-id=\"10\">\n<div id=\"bf-item-211-1-1\" class=\"\">\n<div class=\"awareness-inner\">\n<div class=\"ad-slot-media js-slot-media\">\n<div class=\"ad-slot-media-inner js-ad-media\">\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ad__disclosure--ex js-ad-disclosure\">While some of the images from that day appeared to show officers standing by to let the mob into the Capitol building, the veteran officer said that they had fought them off for two hours before the attackers eventually gained access. The officer said that many of the widely spread images of smiling marauders, wandering the halls dressed in absurd costumes, had the effect of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/benking\/capitol-dc-riot-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">downplaying how well prepared<\/a>\u00a0some of the rioters were to overtake the building, and even to capture and kill Congress members.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mod-subbuzz-text-2\" class=\"subbuzz subbuzz-text xs-mb4 xs-relative \" data-keywords=\"cleaning\" data-module=\"subbuzz-text\">\n\u201cThat was a heavily trained group of militia terrorists that attacked us,\u201d said the officer, who has been with the department for more than a decade. \u201cThey had radios, we found them, they had two-way communicators and earpieces. They had bear spray. They had flash bangs &#8230; They were prepared. They strategically put two IEDs, pipe bombs, in two different locations. These guys were military trained. A lot of them were former military,\u201d the officer said, referring to two suspected pipe bombs that were found outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee.<br \/>\nThe officer even described coming face-to-face with police officers from across the country in the mob. He said some of them flashed their badges, telling him to let them through, and trying to explain that this was all part of a movement that was supposed to help.<br \/>\n\u201cYou have the nerve to be holding a Blue Lives Matter flag, and you are out there fucking us up,\u201d he told one group of protesters he encountered inside the Capitol. \u201c[One guy] pulled out his badge and he said, \u2018We\u2019re doing this for you.\u2019 Another guy had his badge. So I was like, \u2018Well, you gotta be kidding.\u2019\u201d<br \/>\nAnother officer, a newer recruit, echoed these sentiments, saying that where he was on the steps to the Rotunda on the east side of the Capitol, he was engaged in hand-to-hand battles trying to fight the attackers off. But he said they were outnumbered 10 to 1, and described extraordinary scenes in which protesters holding Blue Lives Matter flags launched themselves at police officers.<br \/>\n\u201cWe were telling them to back up and get away and stop, and they\u2019re telling us they are on our side, and they\u2019re doing this for us, and they\u2019re saying this as I\u2019m getting punched in my face by one of them \u2026 That happened to a lot of us. We were getting pepper-sprayed in the face by those protesters \u2014 I&#8217;m not going to even call them protesters \u2014 by those domestic terrorists,\u201d said the officer.<br \/>\nWhile it was a hard day for almost every officer at the Capitol, Black officers were in a particularly difficult position, he said, and he drew a stark contrast with how police handled the Black Lives Matter protests this summer.<br \/>\n\u201cThere\u2019s quite a big difference when the Black Lives Matter protests come up to the Capitol,\u201d he said. \u201c[On Wednesday], some officers were catering to the rioters.\u201d<br \/>\nHe said that what upset him the most was when he later saw images of a white colleague taking a selfie with the attackers, seeming to enjoy his time with the insurrectionists who were roaming the US Capitol with Confederate flags and other symbols of white supremacy.<br \/>\n\u201cThat one hurt me the most because I was on the other side of the Capitol getting my ass kicked,\u201d he said.<br \/>\nHe is certain that if a group of Black Americans had stormed the Capitol, they wouldn\u2019t have gotten that kind of friendly reception from his white colleagues.<br \/>\n\u201cIf you\u2019re going to treat a group of demonstrators for Black Lives Matters one way, then you should treat this group the same goddamn way. With this group you were being kind and nice and letting them walk back out. Some of them got arrested but a lot of them didn\u2019t. Everyone who came into that Capitol should have been arrested regardless if they didn\u2019t take anything.\u201d<br \/>\nThe number of arrests has steadily\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/tasneemnashrulla\/rioters-storming-capitol-trump-election-lies-social-media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increased in recent days<\/a>, but it currently seems unlikely that everyone who breached the building on Wednesday will be arrested for their actions.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/clarissajanlim\/police-three-dead-medical-emergency-capitol-riots\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Five people died<\/a>\u00a0on Wednesday, including a Capitol Police officer. One protester was shot and killed by Capitol Police, while three others died of medical emergencies during the attack.<br \/>\nThe older Black officer didn\u2019t think it was a simple case of treating the rioters differently from BLM protesters, but instead part of a bigger issue with how the agency is managed.<br \/>\n\u201cOur chief was nowhere to be found, I didn\u2019t hear him on the radio. One of our other deputy chiefs was not there,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t think it\u2019s all hands on deck?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"clearfix js-ad-placement ad-inline \"><\/div>\n<p>The veteran officer welcomed the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/salvadorhernandez\/capitol-police-resigned-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">resignation of US Capitol Police chief<\/a>, Steven Sund, but he thinks more needs to change at the agency, which answers to Congress and where security is not as tight as it should be.<br \/>\n\u201cCongress can bring anybody in the building that they want. They can go outside and find 200 people, and say, &#8216;Hey, they\u2019re with me. Come on in.&#8217; They don\u2019t have to go through security as long as a congressman said so,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey just want to make Congress happy. So I think the next chief needs to come in and sit down with Congress.\u201d<br \/>\nAt the end of the night, after the crowds had been dispersed and Congress got back to the business of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/addybaird\/joe-biden-wins-electoral-college-vote-congress\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">certifying president-elect Joe Biden\u2019s victory<\/a>, the veteran officer was overwhelmed with emotion, and broke down in the Rotunda.<br \/>\n\u201cI sat down with one of my buddies, another Black guy, and tears just started streaming down my face,\u201d he said. \u201cI said, \u2018What the fuck, man? Is this America? What the fuck just happened? I\u2019m so sick and tired of this shit.\u2019\u201d<br \/>\nSoon he was screaming, so that everyone in the Rotunda, including his white colleagues, could hear what he had just gone through.<br \/>\n\u201cThese are racist-ass terrorists,\u201d he yelled out.<br \/>\nIn the seven years since Black Lives Matter has become a rallying cry, the image of a white cop deciding how and when to enforce law and order has become ubiquitous. On Wednesday, Americans saw something different, as Black officers tried to do the same, as they attempted to protect the very heart of American democracy. And instead of being honored by the supporters of a man who likes to call himself the \u201claw and order\u201d president, Black Capitol officers found themselves under attack.<br \/>\n\u201cI got called a nigger 15 times today,\u201d the veteran officer shouted in the Rotunda to no one in particular. \u201cTrump did this and we got all of these fucking people in our department that voted for him. How the fuck can you support him?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI cried for about 15 minutes and I just let it out.\u201d\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>www.buzzfeednews.com By Emmanuel FeltonBuzz Feed News Reporter &nbsp; Two Black officers told BuzzFeed News that their chief and other upper management left them totally unprepared and were nowhere to be found on the day. &nbsp; The first glimpse of the deadly tragedy that was about to unfold came at 9 a.m. on the morning of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,105],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-18713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18713"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.willoughbyavenue.com\/eagle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=18713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}