Washington caught the attention of the world this week as a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday to disrupt Congress affirming Joe Biden’s election victory.
Donald Trump - who lost both the electoral college and popular vote - insisted that the election was rigged and that he was robbed of victory, encouraging his supporters to fight Biden's win.
As a result, a large mob of Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol building to disrupt both houses affirming Joe Biden's election - the first time the US Capitol has been stormed since 1814.
The rioters were eventually removed hours later, at least 52 people were arrested and Congress affirmed Joe Biden’s victory as the next President of the United States.
But as Capitol Hill quietened and Washington went into lockdown, the world remained shocked by the turn of events and the white privilege that was on clear display.
People took to social media in their thousands to condemn the lenient handling of the violent storming of the Capitol, especially compared to the Black Lives Matter protests where peaceful protestors were attacked by federal police in the same city.
First Daughter and Special Assistant to the President drew even more criticism when she tweeted the rioters to ask them to stop, calling them 'patriots'.
‘American Patriots,’ she tweeted. ‘Any security breach or disrespect to our law enforcement is unacceptable. The violence must stop immediately. Please be peaceful.’
Kate Bennett, White House Correspondent for CNN, took to Twitter to call her out, posting: ‘Clarifying, Ivanka Trump, you’re saying these people are “patriots”??’
Backtracking quickly, Ivanka deleted the original tweet and responded: ‘No. Peaceful protest is patriotic. Violence is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms’.
We will continue to update the story.
