Media hypes nonexistent right-wing Inauguration Day violence, largely avoids left-wing violence

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Sen. Cotton: New Antifa rioting in Portland and Seattle proves my point

Protests on the West Coast take a violent turn following Joe Biden's inauguration; GOP Sen. Tom Cotton reacts to the riots on 'Fox & Friends.'

Following the deadly riot on Capitol Hill Jan. 6, the mainstream media flooded the zone with coverage of potential right-wing violence that officials warned could take place in state capitals across the country, but never actually materialized. 

An internal FBI memo made headlines with its warning that armed protests in all 50 states were being planned and could take place before, on, and after Joe Biden's swearing-in Jan. 20.

While small groups of right-wing protesters gathered outside various statehouses last weekend, there were no reports of violence by any Trump supporters during the inauguration itself.

Glenn Greenwald, an independent journalist and the former founding editor of The Intercept, questioned the media's decision to hype coverage of violence that never came to pass.

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"The media incuriosity over why Washington continues to be utterly militarized, why none of the supposedly planned January 20 day violent protests at state capitols happened, and whether this threat is being exaggerated to justify the Draconian security proposals, is stunning," Greenwald tweeted Friday.

There was, however, left-wing violence fueled by Antifa that rocked the streets of Portland and Seattle on Wednesday night. 

Despite the overwhelming coverage the networks gave to the warnings of right-wing violence, the left-wing violence that actually took place was virtually ignored. 

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According to NewsBusters, CBS devoted just 30 seconds on its Thursday morning program to the violence in Portland and Seattle. NBC spent only 20 seconds on the story, while ABC's "Good Morning America" skipped it altogether. 

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In addition, as NewsBusters noted, neither CBS nor NBC made reference to Antifa during their reports. 

All three networks later avoided the left-wing violence on their evening news broadcasts. Additionally, CNN and MSNBC offered minimal to no coverage throughout the day Thursday.