evidence: To Black activists, civil rights advocates and many Democrats — including President-elect Joe Biden — the police response reflected law enforcement’s long history of giving white people passes for behavior that would result in beatings or death if done by people of color. Some pointed to the brutal treatment of many Black Lives Matter protesters in cities across the country after the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis — including the forced removal of peaceful protesters near the White House to make way for a Trump photo-op — and the more measured response to groups of white people who protested Covid-19 lockdown orders. Revelations that Wednesday’s rioters included military veterans and police officers have exacerbated feelings of disparate treatment. [...] That racism doesn’t just affect the police response to protests; it also poisons police planning for the events, Williams said. Williams was not involved in the response to Wednesday’s riot. But, based on her experience in helping law enforcement plan for previous protests in the Capitol, Williams said police gather a lot of information in advance and assess the risk of violence, and Black protesters are typically seen as more of a risk than white protesters. "If that had been a minority, Black crowd, they would still be putting toe tags on individuals today," Williams said of the Capitol rioters. "We have to acknowledge that there’s a difference."