Skip to content
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
Suburban Chicagoland

Suburban Chicagoland

Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America

  • About
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Our Writers
      • Ray Hanania
      • Bill Lipinski
      • Biography: Aaron Hanania
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Reach Out
  • Sections
    • Events
    • Opinion
    • News
    • Features
    • Seniors
    • Comic Strip
  • Library
    • “MIdnight Flight” Online Book
      • Midnight Flight Book Overview
      • Midnight Flight Introduction
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 1
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 2
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 3
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 4
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 5
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 6
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 7
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 8
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 9
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 10
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 11
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 12
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 13
    • Villages, Cities & Towns
    • Federal Office Holders
    • County Officials
    • Legislators
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Comment
  • Podcast
    • Ray Hanania on Politics
    • Two Guys on Politics
    • Hanania on Tiktok
  • News Wire
  • Archive 2004-2013
  • Toggle search form
  • Hastings insurance legislation
    Hastings announces legislation to ensure fair homeowners insurance rates for Illinois families Business
  • Mahnoor Ahmad campaign photo
    Mahnoor Ahmad runs for DuPage County Board seat Democrat
  • Sunday, October 26, the Village of Orland Park formally rededicated its Village Hall in honor of the late former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens
    Village of Orland Park Rededicates Village Hall in Honor of Late Former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens Government
  • Fire at townhome at 13900 block of Berkhansted Court in Orland Park, just before midnight on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025
    Firefighter treated for dehydration battling townhouse fire in Orland Park – no residents injured Fire
  • Firefighters with the Orland Fire Protection District who responded to a fire in an apartment at 15200 block of Al Camino Terrace on Saturday morning said the next day that they did find a kitten that needed respiratory aid that they saved.
    FIRE UPDATE: Fire District releases photos of kitten saved from Orland Park apartment fire Saturday Features
  • two-story apartment building on the 15200 block of El Camino Terrace in Orland Park
    Orland Park apartment fire Saturday morning, no injuries Fire
  • Illinois Senator Michael Hastings addressing the Orland Township Democratic Organization Wednesday Oct. 12, 2022
    Hastings calls for bipartisan action to protect Illinois families from SNAP benefit shutdown Baby Boomers
  • Illinios Industrial Energy Consumers, information ad
    Get information on the Illinois Energy Omnibus Bill in Springfield Business
  • State Senator Mike Porfirio secured over $20 million to support infrastructure improvements and construction in the 11th Senate District.
    Senator Porfirio applauds more than $20 million in infrastructure repairs coming to the 11th District News
  • Dad and daughter reunited Lebving Law firm photo
    Little Girl Recovered and Reunited with Dad After Long Separation Dads' Rights
  • 11-03-25 OFPD Coffee living alone
    Orland Fire hosts meeting on helping Seniors who live alone Nov. 5 Baby Boomers
  • State Senator Michael Hastings introduces law to revive long dormant and degraded Tinley Park Mental Health Center into a Sports Park for the community. Photo courtesy of the State Senate President Don Harmon
    Hastings secures $250,000 grant for Easterseals Academy’s Tinley Park campus Health
  • Chicago ranks as 161st worst city for crime in new national survey Chicago
  • Kat Abughazaleh 9th DIstrict Congress 2026 candidate democrat
    Kat Abughazaleh raises over $520,000 in Q2 of 2025 with more than $630,000 cash on hand for 2026 Democratic primary election elections
  • Silent Threat: The True Dangers of Lithium-Ion Batteries — How to Stay Safe and Respond to a Battery Fire Fire
The U.S. Congress, west view, courtesy of Wikipedia

Was Jan. 6 “insurrection” worse than the post-Floyd “insurrection” against police, and law and order?

Posted on January 10, 2022January 10, 2022 By Ray Hanania No Comments on Was Jan. 6 “insurrection” worse than the post-Floyd “insurrection” against police, and law and order?
SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  

Was Jan. 6 “insurrection” worse than the post-Floyd “insurrection” against police, and law and order?

President Biden and Democrats are calling the 5 hours of violence by 1,200 of the 35,000 plus protestors at the Capitol an “insurrection,” but was that a worse “insurrection” than the three months of violence that destroyed thousands of businesses after the George Floyd killing that some Democrats tried to justify? The post-Floyd violence was an “insurrection” against the police and law and order

By Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania

President Joe Biden gave a very effective, carefully worded and planned out speech on Thursday on the anniversary of the violent attacks that took place at the Congress on Jan 6, 2021 by supporters of the former President, Donald Trump.

But was the violence an “insurrection” or merely the result of America’s polarized anger that boiled over among some of the protestors that is now being exploited by Trump foes like Democrat Biden and Republican Liz Cheney?

Trump has always been loose with his facts and words, worsened only by his inability to ignore petty scuffles with his critics. Trump clearly lost the election to Biden and just couldn’t handle it.

But Trump also had every right to challenge the election results and to question the vote tallies in many states. The assertion by the biased mainstream news media that elections have never been stolen before is unheard of, except, of course, if you are using it to make a partisan political statement.

The media has been very biased against the former President, more so than against any other president. But again, Trump has made it easy for the news media to twist and distort his words. His shoot-from-the-hip style was ineffective, and it exposed him to media criticism. He was neither the great orator he claimed to be, nor the great politician that promised to be. Despite some good policies, he undermined himself with his angry and sometimes low-class rhetoric. But his engaging in the petty back-and-forth with the major mainstream news media was his undoing.

The U.S. Congress, west view, courtesy of Wikipedia
The U.S. Congress, west view, courtesy of Wikipedia

 

Fighting with the media is not how you beat the news media or advance your agenda. He had many alternative choices he could have made, but he chose instead to always pat himself on the back or make personal attacks against clearly biased journalists.

 

The president has enormous powers and he could have easily taken control of media coverage by giving exclusives to media that were fair, rather than constantly responding to the lies from programs at CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS or NBC News. All he did was put the spotlight on the news media and augment their voice.

President Biden, too, has failed to deliver on a key promise he made when he was elected, to bring the American people and the country back together. Instead, in his speech Thursday on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 violence, he increased the divide and only made the polarization worse.

Was the January 6 violence part of an “insurrection?”

I don’t believe so. I think the accusation is more about partisan hype and a continuation of the polarization that has so severely damaged our nation. I blame both sides, and I blame the news media the most.

The Jan. 6 violence at Congress lasted about 5-hour and it involved only a small portion of the pro-Trump protestors who rallied in an expression of their Constitutional rights to Free Speech.

The news media has called the protest an “insurrection” and the pejorative term was embraced by Trump’s critics, not because it was factual but because it pandered to the critics’ voter base. Trump has done a poor job responding to the assertion and his actions have only fed into the false narrative.

But here is what I see as being closer to the truth.

So far, about 800 protestors have been arrested and charged with committing violent crimes including physical assault and property damage. Another 400 protestors are also expected to be arrested and prosecuted for violence, according to Biden’s Justice Department.

There is no doubt in my mind that anyone who engages in any form of violence should be charged and prosecuted … in a court of law, not in the biased mainstream news media’s court of manipulated public opinion. If suspects are found guilty, they should certainly pay the price for their crimes. Many, if not all of the 1,200 accused protestors deserve to be punished and jailed.

But, the January 6 Insurrection is being weaponized for political purposes, including as a factor to reenforce President Biden’s shortcomings and his inability to achieve his many promises. So far, instead of bringing the nation together, he has crowbarred it further apart including in his speech Thursday.

Jan. 6 was a deadly assault, as President Biden described it. But to imply that all of the protestors were involved in an insurgency simply because they agreed with Trump’s assertions that the election was stolen, is ridiculous on its face.

How many protestors were there? The number ranges from 20,000 to 120,000, the last number was the estimate attributed to the FBI and Secret Service, according to a Dec. 23 report by Newsweek.

To take the violence of 1,200 protestors and blame all of the protestors — whether it was 120,000 or 20,000, is morally flawed and clearly a political manipulation of the truth.

How do you blame all 120,000 protestors — or even 20,000 protestors — for the violent actions of a fraction of those who were there? And yet, that is exactly what Biden, the mainstream news media and Liz Cheney, the daughter of one of America’s most notorious liars, former Vice President Dick Cheney. (How many American lives were lost fighting a war in Iraq that didn’t need to be fought?)

The protest was not an insurrection. It was a misguided protest in which some members crossed the line into violence.

Does that defense sound familiar? It should.

That is exactly the argument that the Far Left and the mainstream news media made when thousands of protestors across the country looted stores, destroyed businesses, assaulted police officers, and attacked innocent bystanders in the three month period following the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

The left, and many politicians like Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and many other activists defending the Black Lives Matters movement made when asked about the violence by some of the protestors.

That’s the hypocrisy that bothers me the most and should bother you. Biden wants us to believe that 1,200 protestors who engaged in 5 hours of violence that took the lives of five people and injured dozens during the violence of the Capitol protests, is more important than the dozens of lives lost at the hands of the post-Floyd protestors in cities across America.

While we know almost precisely who the Jan. 6 perpetrators of the violence are, many of those who engaged in criminal behavior were brushed aside.

In fact, the post-Floyd protest violence was more of an “insurrection” against law and order and it fueled a specific demand by the movement that orchestrated the violence, to defund police and undermine the ability of police to arrest criminals who looted businesses, vandalized property, injured dozens of people and killed several anti-BLM civilians.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters openly urged protestors to “get more confrontational” if Police Officer Derek Chauvin had not been found guilty.

If the jury did not return a conviction, Waters said, “then we know that we got to not only stay in the street, but we have got to fight for justice.”

Sounds a lot like the words Trump used that the Left and news media asserted was evidence of his role in orchestrating the “insurgency.”

Kamala Harris, running for Vice President, said that BLM protestors “should not give up,” adding “the protests are not going to stop,” words similar to those used by Trump that the media cite as evidence of “insurrection.”

The media did for Waters and Harris what they refused to do for Trump, defending their words saying they did not call for “violence” but denouncing Trump.

Well, read President Trump’s speech to the protestors on Jan. 6, 2021 and you will see he did not urge violence either. In fact, here is what Trump did say:

“… we’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them.

“Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated.

“I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

Trump and his supporters had every right to declare that the election had been stolen. They had every right to question the vote results, especially in states controlled by Democrats.

I don’t believe the election was stolen but the point is, the issue became a political argument to demonize Trump and his supporters.

Does the mainstream news media really want to be on record that votes have never been stolen? Or never been stolen just when Trump was the candidate?

I live in Chicago and I know votes have been fraudulent and elections have been stolen.

Trump can be a whiny baby and his personality flaws have empowered his critics. I do blame him for enflaming this debate and failing to make a cohesive and smart response devoid of petty emotions.

I am certainly not saying he should be re-elected, but I also question whether Biden has earned his re-election. His first year has been flawed, too. Promises to control Coronavirus have turned into empty political boasts.

The issue here should be one of principle … if you go after the Jan. 6 protestors who engaged in violence so aggressively then the country, the media and the Democrats should have gone after the George Floyd protestors with the same vigor and determination.

The looters, the arsonists, the gangbangers, the killers and violent protestors who engaged in an “insurrection against policing and law and order” after the killing of George Floyd should have been charged and jailed, too. And their trials should be showcased as brightly as the news media is tar and feathering the Jan. 6 protestors.

We know how many people were arrested and charged and convicted in the Jan. 6 protest. No one knows how many violent BLM offenders were arrested and punished. The damage the post George Floyd protestors did to American society was political and was intended to undermine our police and law authority. It was, as I said, an insurrection against law and order.

The news media doesn’t get to decide who is the winner or loser in an election. But the news media has stopped reporting the news and they are actively engaged in creating the news. The media reported on the George Floyd protests by downplaying the violence, allowing people to assert that the violence was a natural expression of “frustration.” With Trump, the exaggerated his words, and exaggerated the protestor intent, using those who used violence to justify indicting the entire movement.

The news media and Biden did not indict the BLM protestors for the actions of those who actively engaged in violence.

Even if Biden wanted to bring polarized America back together, he can’t because the mainstream news media, who are insurrections themselves, won’t allow it. They thrive on the violence, violence they can embrace for political reasons in violation of journalistic ethics.

Don’t be fooled by the media hyperbole or the double standards and hypocrisy of politicians like Nancy Pelosi or Lynn Cheney. Whatever they want to accuse Trump of doing, they are no different.

I hope you will share this column with others. Who else has your voice? If you haven’t already subscribed to this column, or received this from a friend, you can subscribe for FREE by Clicking here.

( Ray Hanania is an award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter. A political analyst and CEO of Urban Strategies Group, Hanania’s opinion columns on mainstream issues are published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers. His Middle East columns are published in the Arab News. For more information on Ray Hanania visit www.Hanania.com or email him at [email protected].)

 

SUBSCRIBE BELOW

Subscribe to Ray's columns

Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

* indicates required field.

 

Select Email Format


Two Guys on Politics podcast with Former Congressman Bill Lipinski and former Chicago City Hall reporter Ray Hanania www.TwoGuysonPolitics.com

PS … Follow me on Gettr the Uncensored Twitter. Gettr.com/user/rayhanania Fight back against #SocialMediaBigBrother

newswire info
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
Ray Hanania
Latest posts by Ray Hanania (see all)
  • Hastings announces legislation to ensure fair homeowners insurance rates for Illinois families - October 29, 2025
  • Mahnoor Ahmad runs for DuPage County Board seat - October 29, 2025
  • Village of Orland Park Rededicates Village Hall in Honor of Late Former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens - October 29, 2025
NPV: 49
  • Tweet

SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  
 
 
 
           
Blogger, Commentary, Crime, Government, National, Opinion, Politics, rayhanania Tags:2021, arson, BLM, Capitol Riots, Donald Trump, George Floyd, insurrection, Jan. 6, January 6, Joe Biden, looting, protests, riots, shootings, vandalism, violence

Post navigation

Previous Post: Officials should take COVID impact on Seniors more seriously
Next Post: Olympic Hockey Champion Kendall Coyne publishes new book

Related Posts

  • Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar
    Cook County Health awards over $14 million in community grants for behavioral health interventions Cook County
  • Illinois State confirms 250 new cases of Coronavirus Disease: Trump offers support Federal
  • Kirstie Alley, 1994 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
    Under-appreciated Kirstie Alley deserves better Blogger
  • 02-17-25 OFPD Shamrock event March 17
    Orland Fire to host annual “Shamrocks & Shenanigans” Senior Luncheon on March 14 Baby Boomers
  • McLaughlin responds to false claims from Pekau elections
  • Near empty shelves at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. Photo courtesy Ray Hanania
    Coronavirus, one year and too many deaths later Blogger

More Related Articles

Orland Fire District to honor former Fire Chief Robert M. Buhs Cook County
Illinois State confirms 250 new cases of Coronavirus Disease: Trump offers support Federal
Smashburger from Smashburger's Facebook Page. The best hamburger in Chicagoland Smashburger is the ultimate best tasting burger ever Blogger
Police Blotter Man who broke into Oak Brook home on Thanksgiving arrested Crime
Ian Conyers, a former Michigan legislator and nephew of longtime Congressman John Conyers. Photo courtesy of Ian Conyers. Podcast: John Conyers’ nephew endorses Brenda Jones over Rashida Tlaib elections
Fathers Rights Attorney Jeffery M. Leving Men can be Victims of Domestic Abuse Too Arthur Kallow

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Login with your Social ID
  • OPINION
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    Your Mortgage Company May Pay Your Taxes — But You Still Need to Watch
    October 17, 2025
  • Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show small
    The Politicization of the Nobel Peace Prize — and Trump’s Fury Over Losing Again
    October 11, 2025
  • 06-04-25 Two Guys on Politics Background Zoom LOGO with images
    Video Podcast: Trump Kimmel Kirk Great American Divide Illegal Aliens polling and Illegal Aliens and ICE
    September 20, 2025
  • Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch speaking at a West Side affordable housing dedication
    Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, one of the best candidates to become Illinois Governor
    September 7, 2025
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    What You’re Missing on Your Property Tax Bill
    September 5, 2025
Subscribe to Ray Hanania's column graphic

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png

Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio

  • NEWS
  • Hastings insurance legislation
    Hastings announces legislation to ensure fair homeowners insurance rates for Illinois families
    October 29, 2025
  • Mahnoor Ahmad campaign photo
    Mahnoor Ahmad runs for DuPage County Board seat
    October 29, 2025
  • Sunday, October 26, the Village of Orland Park formally rededicated its Village Hall in honor of the late former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens
    Village of Orland Park Rededicates Village Hall in Honor of Late Former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens
    October 29, 2025
  • Fire at townhome at 13900 block of Berkhansted Court in Orland Park, just before midnight on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025
    Firefighter treated for dehydration battling townhouse fire in Orland Park – no residents injured
    October 28, 2025
  • Firefighters with the Orland Fire Protection District who responded to a fire in an apartment at 15200 block of Al Camino Terrace on Saturday morning said the next day that they did find a kitten that needed respiratory aid that they saved.
    FIRE UPDATE: Fire District releases photos of kitten saved from Orland Park apartment fire Saturday
    October 26, 2025
John Kass Columns

Order the book PoweR PR; Ethnic Activists Guide to Strategic Communications

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO RAY HANANIA'S YOUTUBE VIDEOS


Click here to view the video on YouTube or use the widget below.

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Creative Commons License
All works on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

Categories

Copyright © 2022 Suburban Chicagoland & Urban Strategies Group

Powered by PressBook Premium theme