Trump links Capitol riot detainees to WWII Japanese internment

Donald Trump made a controversial comparison between the Jan 6 detainees and Japanese Americans interned during World War II. The former president spoke about this in an interview with Dan Bongino (a conservative commentator) around 10/15/2024

“Why are they still being held? Nobodyʼs ever been treated like this‚“ he said. “Maybe the Japanese during Second World War frankly. They were held‚ too“

Trump has consistently tried to play down the storming of the Capitol by his supporters who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss portraying it earlier this week as a “day of love“. About 140 officers were injured that day making it likely the largest assault of American law enforcement in a single day. Ashli Babbitt (a Trump supporter) was shot and killed by police

The GOP presidential nominee has previously said the rioters have been “horribly treated“ and has referred to those still jailed as “hostages“ and “victims“ repeatedly calling for their release and suggesting he would pardon them if re-elected. Kamala Harris (Trumps Democratic opponent) on 10/17/2024 accused him of gaslighting the public regarding Jan 6

The federal government incarcerated an estimated 120‚000 people with Japanese ancestry‚ including U.S. citizens following a February 1942 order signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt. A 1983 congressional commission concluded the detentions were a result of “racial prejudice war hysteria and failure of political leadership“ and the U.S. government formally apologized and paid $20‚000 in reparations to each victim five years later

Sharon Yamato (the daughter of former Japanese Americans who were incarcerated) said: “Japanese Americans are not and should not be compared to insurrectionists who committed major crimes and in which people were hurt and killed. And I think that that is just so horrible to try to even make that comparison or allege that theres any similarities between the two“

Trump claimed the Jan 6 defendants “won in the Supreme Court“ referring to a ruling from 06/2024 that limited a federal obstruction law that had been used to charge hundreds of Capitol riot defendants as well as the former president himself. The Supreme Court opinion that Trump claims should have freed the rioters was authored by John Roberts. In a 6-3 ruling the high court held that the charge of obstructing an official proceeding must include proof that defendants tried to tamper with or destroy documents. But the overwhelming majority of the approximately 1‚000 people who have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to Capitol riot-related federal crimes were never charged with obstruction and will not be affected by the outcome

Trump has maintained that he only encouraged supporters to protest “peacefully“. In a speech on the White House Ellipse that morning Trump told the crowds to march “peacefully and patriotically“ to the Capitol. But he also used far more incendiary language when speaking off the cuff. He said “We fight like hell. And if you dont fight like hell youre not going to have a country anymore“