Tell the Media: Stop Comparing Student Protests to January 6

In recent weeks, college students across the country have staged protests and demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Now, as counterprotestors have resorted to violence and local law enforcement agencies have begun breaking up the encampments, some Republicans and pundits are trying to draw a false equivalence between these largely peaceful anti-war protests and the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

That false equivalence is being used to smear anti-war protestors and justify a violent and dangerous crackdown by law enforcement.

That's why we're launching an emergency petition calling on media outlets to stop comparing student protests to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Donald Trump started the false equivalence by suggesting student anti-war protestors should face similar punishment to those who violently attacked the U.S. Capitol Building in an attempt to disrupt the peaceful transition of power.

“They took over a building. That is a big deal,” Trump said. "And I wonder if what’s going to happen to them will be anything comparable to what happened to J6, because they’re doing a lot of destruction, a lot of damages, a lot of people getting hurt very badly. I wonder if that’s going to be the same kind of treatment they gave J6."

Since then, pundits on both sides of the aisle – including David Frum, Al Sharpton, Ari Fleischer and Mika Brzezinski – have doubled down on this ridiculous comparison.

As Anand Giridharadas remarked, "there is no moral comparison between the January 6 insurrection and the campus protests over Gaza."

Let's be clear: Student anti-war protestors aren't trying to overturn the results of a presidential election. They didn't bring a gallows and noose with them. And they didn't murder a police officer and violently attack countless others.

Please add your name to our emergency petition calling on the media to stop comparing student protests to January 6.