Treatment of Trump mob shows policing double standard, BLM activists say | Morning Newsletter
And, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman says he’s thinking of running for the U.S. Senate.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning. Here are the stories you should know about this morning.
First: My colleagues spoke with Philadelphia activists who explained how the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was more evidence of a double standard in policing.
Then: Pa. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is expected to tell supporters today that he’s considering running for Senate.
And: Restaurant critic Craig LaBan offers some takeout stars that will help you through the winter.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Racial justice activists said they watched in horror but weren’t surprised when an armed mob of Trump loyalists stormed inside the Capitol, looted congressional offices, and took selfies with police. “The difference between these cases is that those people were Black and living in a predominantly Black neighborhood, or were white folk who were participating in anti-racist activism,” an organizer in Philadelphia told my colleagues. “This really was a very dramatic and clear example of the white supremacy that’s embedded in policing.”
Reporting by my colleagues Anna Orso, Chris Palmer, Oona Goodin-Smith, and Ellie Rushing illustrates how the insurrection at the Capitol reminded local activists about the uneven police responses they experienced in Philadelphia last year when, on the same day, police stood by as mostly armed white men patrolled Philadelphia neighborhoods as they also fired tear gas at Black Lives Matter protestors trapped along I-676.
Eight of the 10 Pennsylvania Republicans in Congress continued to lead a push to overturn their state’s election results after the violence at the Capitol on Wednesday deterred some of their colleagues from continuing their objections.
While some Republicans have told my colleagues Jonathan Tamari and Andrew Seidman that they hope for a change in approach, others say that Trump’s base is a powerful force that can help them win.
Helpful COVID-19 Resources
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What you need to know today
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is expected to tell supporters today that he is thinking of running for the U.S. Senate, my colleague Chris Brennan reports.
Pennsylvania Democrats are pushing for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump.
A year into the pandemic, effective COVID-19 drug treatments have been frustratingly hard to find, my colleague Marie McCullough reports.
A man who organized a bus of Trump supporters to travel from Pennsylvania to Washington on Wednesday was one of those who died amid the chaos.
In the lead-up to Wednesday’s insurrection, Trump and his allies tried to overturn Pennsylvania’s election results for two months. They failed over and over again. One of the lawyers who represented Trump in his efforts to overturn results in Philadelphia is seeking to withdraw his representation because, he says, the president used his services “to perpetrate a crime.”
Officials in Delco paid $25,000 in ransom to hackers who got into the county’s computer system in November.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Ain’t that the truth. Thanks for sharing this shot, @gritadelphia.
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That’s interesting
🦅 Should Carson Wentz stay with the Eagles this offseason? Here’s beat reporter Jeff McLane’s answer.
👀 One of the Phillies’ rivals got a lot better yesterday.
⚽ As Union defender Mark McKenzie moves on to Belgium, the team “didn’t bid farewell just to a great player. They bid farewell also to a great person,” my colleague Jonathan Tannenwald writes.
🔶 Don’t worry: There’s another Gritty-themed embroidery class on the way after the first one sold out in hours.
🗓️ Check out our updated weekly events calendar for the best of this week’s safe kid-friendly, outdoor, and arts events.
Opinions
“Had they been Black, blood would have flowed down those white steps. Authorities would have teargassed dissenters in droves. They would have been shot with rubber bullets before they even made it inside one of the nation’s most important buildings. African Americans would have been rounded up and taken away by the busloads, the way they were last summer during Black Lives Matter protests.” — writes columnist Jenice Armstrong about the difference between how law enforcement treated the majority-white rioters at the Capitol this week and Black Lives Matter protests.
After America hit rock bottom on Wednesday, columnist Will Bunch wonders whether it will have an epiphany.
Columnist Elizabeth Wellington asks this main question with her latest column: Why aren’t Black protesters called ‘great patriots’?
What we’re reading
The Ringer profiled 20-year-old midfielder Brenden Aaronson. That name sound familiar? If so, it’s because Aaronson is moving from the Philadelphia Union to Europe in a multimillion-dollar deal that could become a model for U.S. men’s soccer’s continued development.
A bike lane that runs on North American Street is the city’s first raised lane with a concrete buffer. It’s nearly complete, Billy Penn reports.
The New York Times published its list of “52 Places to Love in 2021.” Spoiler: Philadelphia did not make the list.
Your Daily Dose of | Retirement
Doubling down on his love of “history, art, buildings, architecture, nature, and gardens,” a retired teacher has bought an 18th-century house, creating a unique Airbnb experience and, one day, he hopes, a free museum.