- A researcher has found that rioters from Capitol come from towns with dwindling white populations.
- Robert Pape found that rioters came from villages with a fear of the growing population of coloreds.
- Readers had conflicting feelings about the results of the study, but mostly agree.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
A researcher evaluated 377 people arrested so far for alleged involvement in the January 6 riot in the Capitol and found that the vast majority of them came from cities with a dwindling white population and an increase in immigrants and coloreds.
The findings, published in a Washington Post essay and a follow-up report by The New York Times, drew different reactions from readers. While many seem to agree with the conclusions, others say the study does not emphasize how flawed the thinking of these insurgents is, and some have said it suggests a small minority is unfair as part of a larger trend.
On January 6, supporters of former President Donald Trump violated the U.S. Capitol and clashed with law enforcement. The riot resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer. Police said somewhere between 800 and 1,000 people entered the Capitol during the riot, but three months later less than 400 were arrested and charged.
Robert Pape, professor of political science at the University of Chicago and director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, said those involved are mostly white and male and come from provinces that see an increased percentage of non-white people causing them. to feel as if they are about to lose power.
In many cases, the rioters lived in towns that were generally democratic. Pape said the issue should be seen as a trend.
‘Ignoring this move and its potential would be similar to Trump’s response to covid-19: we can not assume it will blow over. “The ingredients exist for future waves of political violence, from single attacks to total attacks on democracy, around the midterm elections in 2022,” Pape wrote.
Pape told the Times he also conducted an analysis of suicide bombers following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in an effort to detect trends. He said the same attention should have been given to the January 6 event at the Capitol, but that is just the beginning of the research.
“We’re really still in the early stages,” Pape said.
Some readers said the finding was not surprising and confirmed what activists had been saying for some time. They also questioned whether it was fair for white Americans to fear a racial tide or diminished privileges, with the emphasis on ongoing cases of hate crimes and racial violence against minorities.
“Are whites actually worried about turning tables? That they are being told to go back to where they came from, that they will be attacked on the street, that their loved ones will be suffocated or shot dead by a police officer? Are they? worried about being stereotyped by employers because their first names are Karen or Brad? Do they think medical doctors will ignore their symptoms and go through their pain because you know what people are like? ‘one reader wrote in response on the Times article and highlighted the experiences of people of color.
Others, however, said the study could be skewed because it only looked at data from 377 people arrested in connection with the riots – a sample size too small to draw a conclusion about a trend.
The relatively small pool of data (377 arrests), combined with the skewed nature of those who were able to attend (the money, time and access to the airport needed for many of the participants to undertake such a trip) does not allow much detailed analysis then, “wrote one reader.
Some have said that those who attended do not represent Republicans or a growing trend among former Trump supporters. Pape wrote that there were similarities between the riots and two other Trump marches that resulted in a small number of arrests, but added that the violent upheaval on Jan. 6 could be linked to Trump’s incitement.
Trump has been indicted in the House on charges of inciting the insurgency by telling a crowd to fight like hell. He was later acquitted of the charges by the Senate.
In his op-ed, Pape wrote that rioters were concerned about the ‘big substitute’ – a theory espoused by white supremacists, who claimed that immigrants and people of color would replace white people because immigration was on the rise while white birth rates are low.
“They are witnessing daily the changes that are taking place around them, and they are so insecure, fearful and paranoid that they can think of no way to compete in their changing environment except to deny the inevitable changes and fight irrationally to to keep things as they were was earlier – – – the definition of ‘right-wing, ultra-conservative magativity’ ‘, a Post reader said.
Insider released Pape for comment.
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