The president of Chicago’s police union is facing controversy after he came to the defense of the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol Wednesday. Speaking with Chicago public radio station WBEZ, John Catanzara, who leads the city’s Fraternal Order of Police, said calling the mob “treasonous” is “beyond ridiculous and ignorant” and said their actions were “out of frustration.”
In the phone interview, Catanzara said the riots resulted from “a bunch of p—ed-off people that feel an election was stolen, somehow, some way,” adding that he stands by Trump’s unfounded claims of a “stolen” election. Catanzara said he doesn’t “have any doubt that something shady happened in this election,” and he can’t be convinced “that that many people voted for Joe Biden,” though “it still comes down to proof. Evidence matters.” He said what the rioters did was “out of frustration,” adding that it’s “beyond ridiculous and ignorant” for some people to call the unrest at the Capitol “treasonous.” Catanzara went on to state that what happened at the Capitol was “very different than what happened all across the country all summer long in Democratic-ran cities,” referencing the months-long Black Lives Matter protests in response to the police killings of multiple Black Americans. He said there was no violence at the Capitol.
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“There was no arson. There was no burning of anything. There was no looting. There was very little destruction of property,” he said in part. “There’s no, obviously, violence in this crowd. They pushed past security and made their way to the Senate chamber. Did they destroy anything when they were there? No.”
Despite his words, numerous photos and videos showed rioters smashing windows and glass in doors, ransacking offices, stealing various items, and writing “Murder the Media” on the walls. A total of five people died as a result of the riots – one woman was shot and killed, three people died of “medical emergencies,” and a police officer succumbed to injuries sustained on duty. Dozens of others were injured.
Catanzara remarks immediately sparked outrage, with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasting him. She said, “this wasn’t ‘frustration.’ It was a violent insurrection,” adding that Catanzara’s comments “either demonstrate clear delusion or reckless disrespect for the rule of law – or both.” Catanzara, in a statement to the Chicago Tribune, seemed to backtrack, telling the outlet, “there’s no excuse for what violence did occur or officers being attacked and injured.” He said storming the Capitol was “excessive and that rioters “took it too far.” He again stressed that what unfolded at the Capitol was less serious than the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer.
