Letters to the Editor: What happened at the Capitol wasn't 'protest,' it was terrorism

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·1 min read
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 14: Members of the National Guard, outside the U.S. Capitol Building - a day after the House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump, and over a week after a pro-Trump insurrectionist mob breached the security of the nation's capitol - on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. An estimated 20,000 National Guard troops are expected to be deployed to the city to support law enforcement - around three times the total number of American troops deployed abroad in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
National Guard troops are deployed to the U.S. Capitol after the Jan. 6 attack in Washington. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: Over the past week, I have been following the news about the attack on the Capitol with increasing alarm about the way it is being reported. Words matter, as you should know.

The people who stormed the Capitol building last week were not "protesters" or "marchers," and they weren't participating in a "rally."

The Capitol building was invaded by domestic terrorists in an armed insurrection. Please use the words that accurately describe the events of last week. To do otherwise is to minimize the seriousness of what has happened.

Kathy Keenan, Aptos, Calif.

..

To the editor: Being a Black man, I would be in fear for my life if the Los Angeles Police Department officer who attended the pre-riot rally on Jan. 6 were to pull me over for any reason. And especially at night.

What a shame.

William Smith, Lancaster

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To the editor: I want to acknowledge the photojournalists who risked their lives to record the chaos that occurred at the Capitol on Jan. 6. They allowed us and future historians to witness the horror that tore at the fabric of our Constitution.

My admiration for those heroes is boundless.

Shirley Shatsky, Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.