Kaitlan Collins cornered Sen. J.D. Vance in a testy interview on CNN, calling out the Ohio Republican’s “double standard” for demanding the arrest of campus protesters after supporting the perpetrators of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
In the Wednesday night hit, Vance said that while you can’t “police people for being anti-Israel or pro-Israel. You can police people for violating the law.”
“OK, so you agree that people who break in and vandalize a building should be prosecuted?” Collins questioned.
“Exactly,” Vance replied.
Then Collins threw out his previous defense of Jan. 6 rioters, saying “I’m just checking because you did help raise money for people who did so on January 6th, which was, you know, impeding an official proceeding, breaking into a building that they weren’t allowed to be in and vandalizing the Capitol.”
“I know that this is the obsession of the national media to talk about what happened two years ago, three years ago,” Vance responded testily.
“It’s not an obsession,” Collins said. “I’m just seeing if it’s a double standard.”
Vance interrupted Collins saying “No, let me answer the question.”
“If you beat up a cop, of course, you deserve to go to prison. If you violated the law, you should suffer the consequences,” Vance said. “But there are people who protested on January the 6th who have had the complete weight of the Justice Department thrown at them when at worst, they’re accused of misdemeanors.”
Vance did acknowledge that “there are people who are accused of worse offenses, and that’s a problem.”
However, “You can’t have Black Lives Matter protesters who rioted and vandalized go free when you have people who were actually peacefully protesting on January the 6th, who have the book thrown at them,” Vance continued.
“That’s the double standard that I’m most worried about,” the Senator concluded.
“I don’t think there’s an obsession with January 6, but but it is a legitimate question,” Collins replied.
So you agree that people who break in and vandalize a building should be prosecuted?
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 2, 2024
J.D. Vance: "Exactly."
I’m just checking because you did help raise money for people who did so on Jan. 6th. pic.twitter.com/74AzrHuXXx
