The domestic terrorism committed in D.C. by white nationalist members & Trump supporters was not the same as what the Oakland Black Panther Party for Self-defense did at the California State Capitol in 1967 protesting racism & police brutality in Black communities across America:

For context, the Black Panthers’ original name was the “Black Panther Party for Self-Defense” and Huey Newton & Bobby Seale founded it October 15, 1966 in Oakland, California to patrol the Oakland Police Department, combating police brutality & harassment in the Black community.

In California during the 1960s, it was perfectly normal to open carry. That’s why you see so many photos of the Black Panthers with big rifles on their shoulders. The initial purpose of the party was to patrol the Oakland Police using gun laws and reading California law books.

Don Mulford was a California State Assembly Member (GOP) who introduced a bill in 1967 (Assembly Bill 1591) that would repeal a law allowing California citizens to open carry loaded weapons in public. He purposely did this to strip the Panthers of the only advantage that had.

The Black Panthers heard about the proposed law and decided to demonstrate their opposition. On May 2, 1967, 30 members drove to California’s State Capitol building in Sacramento to read a mandate that Huey P. Newton had written called “Executive Mandate Number 1.”

They entered the California State Capitol building but were turned away from entering the Assembly Chamber by law officials. So, Bobby Seale read the Party’s mandate on the front steps. BPP members also had their weapons confiscated, then returned, because they broke no laws.

This is part of the mandate Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale read to the California State Legislature. He was sent to represent the Party because Huey Newton was known to be a hothead and on probation then. Seale could better represent the party. Newton agreed.

A former actor named Ronald Reagan had just been elected Governor of California in January 1967 and was on the front lawn of the State Capitol that day giving a tour to school kids. When the Black Panthers pulled up, he was quickly whisked away by secrity.

Of course, the Panthers’ actions — although non-violent, still many were arrested — only helped the passing of the Mulford Act, which was supported by the @NRA (National Rifle Association). The act was passed and enacted July 29, 1967. It became known as the “Panther Bill.”

The images of Black protesters toting rifles, wearing black berets with big afros, black leather jackets, and dark sunglasses, made national headlines, officially putting the Black Panthers on the world stage. They even caught the eye of F.B.I. Director Edgar Hoover...