DENVER -- On Wednesday, several Denver and Colorado leaders from past and present took to social media with commentary on the insurrection that was happening at the U.S. Capitol.
Republican and former Governor of Colorado, Bill Owens, wrote, "Sickened. Appalled. Stunned. Angry. And just as I was very critical of the “protesters” who attacked and vandalized our State Capitol, I am outraged at those “protesters” who attacked the very symbol of our Nation’s democracy, the U.S. Capitol. Perhaps we can now all agree that this is wrong. No excuses, no explanation, no rationalization, it is simply wrong."
Director of Denver Public Schools Tay Anderson wrote on Twitter, "If those individuals that stormed the capitol were Black we would’ve seen a different response from law enforcement, that is a fact."
In an interview with Denver7, Anderson elaborated, saying, "If this was Black Lives Matter storming the Capitol, again, I don't think they would've even gotten close to the Capitol for one and two, there would've been mass arrests. There would've been more force by police officers. It would've been an entirely different scene."
Dr. Apryl Alexander, an associate professor at the University of Denver said, "There's controversy right now on where the disparity in the response in coming from. A lot of it is empowered by white supremacy. We talk a lot in psychology about racism, discrimination and prejudice, and what we've seen these last few months and years of this current administration is that individuals who are holding racist or nationalist ideology have been emboldened and empowered."