A number of Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities have expressed their shock after pro-Trump protesters stormed the United States (US) Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, 6 January, in scenes that were broadcast live on multiple news channels including CNN, NBC and others.
Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Sacha Baron Cohen and others have called out the unfair manner in which the rioters were handled by the police, compared to the Black Lives Matters protestors earlier last year.
"Imagine if this was our side. There would be rivers of our blood in the streets and not a single one of us would be armed. This has been allowed. #CoupAttempt", tweeted Mark Ruffalo.
"Just think of the carnage had they not been white", wrote Chris Evans.
Here's what other celebs have to say:
Bollywood actors and filmmakers such as Swara Bhasker, Richa Chadha, Ram Gopal Varma have also condemned the violence. "HOW were they allowed to get this far???????? Where are the guns and sophisticated machinery that peaceful BLM activists were faced with?!?!", tweeted Swara.
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma shared a picture of rioters scaling the walls of the Capitol building and wrote, “Protesters taking over Capitol Hill...This is what @realDonaldTrump has brought America to ..The founding fathers must be turning in their graves.”
Here are some more reactions:
Members of both the Houses of the US Congress were meeting to conduct the vote certifying the Electoral College victory of Joe Biden in the US Presidential elections. Both Houses had to be evacuated and the vote has been suspended.
Several hours after the crisis, the Capitol Police finally managed to clear the mob from the building only after 5:30 pm (EST), with the Capitol’s Sergeant-at-Arms confirming the building was secure, as per a report by CNN.
CNN reported that around 20 people were detained by the Capitol Police, after the DC Police Chief said they had arrested 13 people.
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