Trump compares jailed Capitol rioters to Japanese internment during World War II

Former President Donald Trump on Friday compared the people jailed on charges that they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to the more than 120,000 people of Japanese origin incarcerated on U.S. soil during World War II.

“Why are they still being held? Nobody’s ever been treated like this,” he said in an interview with conservative commentator Dan Bongino. “Maybe the Japanese during Second World War, frankly. They were held, too."

The GOP presidential nominee has consistently tried to play down the storming of the Capitol by his supporters who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss, portraying it earlier this week as a “day of love." About 140 officers were injured that day, making it likely the largest assault of American law enforcement in a single day. Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed by police.

Trump has previously said the rioters have been “horribly treated” and has referred to those still jailed as “hostages” and “victims,” repeatedly calling for their release and suggesting he would pardon them if re-elected.