Mike Johnson Says ‘Clear Distinction’ Between Jan. 6 and Los Angeles Riots

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday that there’s a “clear distinction” between the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol and the widespread demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles.

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CNN’s Manu Raju asked Johnson whether he thinks it’s “hypocritical” for President Donald Trump to condemn the anti-ICE protesters in L.A. for clashing with law enforcement when Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of everyone charged in the deadly Capitol riot, many of whom were convicted of beating or impeding law enforcement.

“Look, no, I think there’s a clear distinction between those two,” Johnson said. “We’ve seen what’s happened in L.A. in the early ’90s and other times, when these things get out of control … you have to stay on top of that and you cannot let it get out of control.”

Johnson was referring to the deadly 1992 riots that broke out in L.A. after a jury acquitted four police officers accused of brutally beating Black motorist Rodney King after a high-speed chase.

“But what’s the difference between the violent protesters on January 6 [and anti-ICE demonstrators]?” Raju pressed the House speaker.

“Everybody wants me to relitigate January 6, I’m not going to do that,” Johnson said. “There’s a very clear distinction between the two. People who broke the law and destroyed property [on January 6] were met with the proper consequences on that.”

He added that the government has to be “consistent” on that issue in L.A., before turning to walk away.

The protests in Los Angeles erupted after ICE raided a number of downtown neighborhoods with high immigrant populations and labor-intensive industries. More than 50 people have been arrested as a result of the raids and five Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers have been injured, officials said.

Senator Majority Leader John Thune was also asked about Trump’s “inconsistency” on the L.A. demonstrations and January 6 siege.

“Do you see any inconsistency when the president criticizes or condemns the violent Los Angeles protesters but then pardons the violent January 6 protesters?” a reporter asked the South Dakota Republican.

Thune dodged the question, saying, “I think the issue that’s in front of us right now is the chaos in L.A.”

“And clearly the local officials there, for whatever reason, didn’t seem up to the task of getting the job done there,” he added.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, local officials and the LAPD have all rebuffed that claim, saying they had the protests under control until Trump deployed the National Guard and mobilized the Marines to crack down on the demonstrations, which led to more unrest.

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.