evidence: That situation produced the scenes that have drawn the harshest comparisons to the Black Lives Matter protests. Heavily armed police hugged the walls as the mob swirled past them. One helped a rioter down the steps as she left the building. Another paused as a departing rioter snapped a selfie with a Capitol Police officer. [...] "How the Trump administration handled the BLM protests was draconian and outrageous," Maguire said. "Flexing military muscle and trampling peoples' rights. We had a massive over-response." [...] One other factor likely shaped the responses of police at the Capitol in ways different from the Black Live Matter protests. That’s the perceived attitude toward the police.