How did LeBron James react to Donald Trump-supporting rioters that stormed the US Capitol? All you need to know

On January 6, 2021, a large mob of 2000-plus Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was protesting Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election.

Many noted how easy it was for them to infiltrate the Capitol Building due to the lack of force used by law enforcement. One such critic was LA Lakers superstar LeBron James.

James was particularly upset by how law enforcement responded very differently to the Trump-supporting rioters compared to the BLM protestors from the previous summer. James also questioned what would have been the outcome if it was his people who stormed the Capitol.

He said:

"I couldn’t help but to wonder if those were my kind storming the Capitol, what would’ve been the outcome? I think we all know. It’s no ifs, ands or buts.

"We already know what would’ve happened to my kind if anyone had gotten close to the Capitol, let alone storm inside the offices and inside the hallways."

During the Capitol riots, there were 52 arrests made compared to the 14,000 made during BLM protests the previous summer, according to USA Today. During the BLM protests, police also used tear gas, rubber bullets, and batons to deal with protesters, vandals and looters.

Meanwhile, during the Capitol riots, they used very little force of any kind to block the rioters' entry.

At the time of the riots, James’ two sons, Bronny and Bryce, were just 16 and 13 respectively, while his daughter Zhuri was five years old. James noted that he had seen a photo of a police officer targeting a black man and his young daughter at a BLM protest and said:

"All you have to do is look at the photos. I saw the picture yesterday of a black man holding his daughter on top of his shoulders and you got a police officer with a shield on with a gun pointed right at him or right at her.

"It could’ve been rubber bullets on the inside. It could’ve been real bullets. We’ve all seen that photo."

He contrasted that with a photo he saw of a white Trump supporter strolling into the Capitol Building.

"On the contrary, you got this white guy walking inside the Capitol with his thumb up in the air holding a podium in his hand. What more do I need to say to my kids than to see the two differences?" he questioned.

James then explained the struggle of growing up as a black person.

"There’s some things you can’t understand because you don’t grow up how we grew up. … We’re afraid of the police. That’s just how I grew up. When you see the police, you ran the other way. You don’t feel like it’s protection," James said.

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LeBron James blames US Capitol riot on Donald Trump, compares Trump-supporting rioters to the KKK

LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James

Later on in his interview regarding the January 6th US Capitol riots, LeBron James talked about who was to blame for the incident. James said that he puts the full blame on Donald Trump for what happened during the riots as he only cares about himself.

"The events that took place yesterday was a direct correlation of the president that is in the seat right now, his actions, his beliefs, his wishes. He cares about nobody besides himself. Nobody. Absolutely nobody," James said.

He even went as far as to compare the Trump-supporting rioters to the Ku Klux Klan terrorist hate group.

"The KKK and the rags over their faces, now they’re just hiding under certain other costumes. They’re going under other costumes that you saw yesterday in the Capitol. You can’t sit here and say that those aren’t terrorists," James said.

James then went on to discuss the riots' impact on the US’s reputation as a country:

"I grew up knowing America was the land of the free and home of the brave. We set an example for all of these other countries in the world to run things and how to be great and how to maneuver and change the world and things of that nature.

"Yesterday, we looked like a third-, fourth- or fifth-world country. It’s just very embarrassing. I hope we can be better."

Finally, James added that it feels like he lives in a divided country with two different versions of America:

"We live in two Americas. If you don’t understand that or see that after seeing what you saw yesterday, you really need to take a step back. Not even just one step. Maybe four or five or even ten steps backwards."

As the NBA dealt with frustrations over the riots and other racial tensions at the time, some teams decided to display their unity. The LA Lakers and San Antonio Spurs players and coaches locked arms during the pregame national anthem of the following game.

They were followed by the Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors, whose players and coaches later performed a similar pregame gesture.