Japanese American civil rights leaders and advocates say former President Trump described the mob that invaded the Capitol on January 6, 2021 as mobs held in concentration camps during World War II. He criticized the comparison.
“It's deeply offensive. What happened is like night and day difference,” David Inouye, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League, said in a statement. The Washington Post. “Entire Japanese American families were imprisoned without any trial. Their own crime was that they were of Japanese ancestry.”
“These January 6th people had their day in court and were either indicted or convicted and that's why they're in jail,” Inoue added.
Appearing in an interview on “The Dan Bongino Show” on Friday, President Trump said that despite a Supreme Court ruling in June finding that obstruction laws were used to indict numerous rioters, the January 6 He questioned why people charged with actions during Sunday's riots were still being detained. Improperly applied.
“Why are they still being held?” President Trump told host Dan Bongino, saying no one has ever been treated like this. “Frankly, probably since World War II. It's probably the Japanese inside. But as you know, they were also detained.”
Approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned in a concentration camp During World War II, after then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order. President Biden called it “one of the most shameful eras in American history.”
Ann Burrows, director and chief executive of the Japanese American National Museum, said Trump's comparisons are “grossly inaccurate and flawed.”
“This is a terribly inaccurate and flawed parable of history.'' Burrows stated in a statement. “The treatment suffered by the January 6th mob and the Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes, systematically stripped of their property, and denied due process when imprisoned for the duration of the war. There is no comparison to the treatment.”
“Now more than ever, we must never forget, ignore, minimize, or erase the lessons learned from the internment of Japanese Americans,” she added.
Sharon Yamato, the daughter of a former Japanese American who was imprisoned, said: Associated Press He said the comparison was “terrible”.
“Japanese Americans cannot and should not be compared to insurgents who committed serious crimes and people were hurt and killed,” Yamato said. Similarities between the two. ”
The former president has previously supported the January 6 insurrectionists, labeling them as “warriors” and “victims.”
“Those J6 warriors, they were warriors, but really, more than anything, they're victims of what happened,” President Trump said at a rally in Nevada earlier this year. . He also hinted that he would grant amnesty if elected in November.
of Justice Department indicts There are approximately 1,500 defendants connected to the Capitol invasion. Approximately 550 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing an officer or employee.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
