In the wake of recent widely publicized trial verdicts, I think it is instructive to consider how the response would have differed if the January 6 insurrectionists had been Black.

Suppose that, for instance, an African American candidate – such as Kamala Harris – narrowly lost a presidential election and questioned the validity of the results, after credible reports of voter suppression preventing large numbers of non-white voters from casting their ballots. Further suppose, however unlikely this might seem, that a large crowd of protestors, mostly African-American, showed up at the capital to object to the voter suppression tactics, which they feel flipped the outcome from what would have been a Kamala Harris victory, to a victory for the Republican candidate.

How would police, and the legal system, respond? Read more