Yesterday, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building, broke windows, pushed against doors, destroyed the offices of elected officials and insisted that Trump is the President of the United States. This is after they have been indulged by court cases heard and recounts in several states. Not many have been arrested to date and videos of their careful treatment by police officers have gone viral. It seems that the police do know how to de- escalate the situation and don’t need unconscious bias training. They are fully aware of what they are doing.

I assure you that this is not how I was treated last summer during protests against police brutality. I was nearly arrested on several occasions and many more were while protesting peacefully. Not a single officer walked me down the steps of any of the buildings. Instead, they called for back up and were prepared to lock us all up when we gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court building.

We were called “terrorists”; they were initially called “anarchists.” The language has gotten stronger over time: insurrectionists, traitors and domestic terrorists. Because this has never happened in American history. British forces burned the U.S. Capitol in 1814.

Yesterday’s white supremacists and last summer’s protestors had two different experiences. No need to draw comparisons. Let me save you the time and the energy. They don’t match.

One is definitely unlike the other. There was no tear gas, no push back, no flash bangs, no military presence and no fences though they knew it was coming. The call was being made from inside the White House and from the President. Trump told them to do it and they were allowed to.

Because how much harm can he do? Just let them air their grievances. Just go along with it. “Yes, the election was stolen.” Exhaust all options. File court cases. Repeat it at press conferences, during radio and television interviews, in emails and at rallies.

Tell your base that they have been robbed and they will come to Washington, D.C. to take back what belongs to them. Yesterday, Donald Trump’s lies came home to roost.

Trump lost the election and some of his followers, his “very fine people” are calling for a civil war. Their flag is visible, roaming the halls and touching the walls. It’s Confederate. No need for discussion or a history lesson. We had a class last summer and concluded that they are one in the same.

They are repeating the same claims. America is ours. We will have our say and you will listen because we control the narrative. Yes, millions of people voted differently but we have white supremacy. We are the majority. So what if the land is stolen. This is our country!

They have made it plain. Law and order are ours to determine. We are above the law and we will determine the order of this day and any other. Because America is not so great unless we have it our way.