Escalating violence as armed protests planned in all 50 state capitals

[Spongebob]

Committing crimes is always a bad thing. When a protest turns violent and people loot businesses, that's certainly a crime and deserves punishment. But when a mob attacks a federal government building with bombs and assaults police with the intent to disrupt government business, that's a completely different matter. Case in point, looting carries a penalty of around 1 year in jail, more if it occurs during a national emergency. Sedition carries a penalty of 20 years in prison. If the two crimes are exactly the same, they would carry at least similar penalties. Why is sedition more serious? Simple, because it is an assault on the very framework of our government and could result in the destruction of our country. Looting is dangerous and destructive but could never cause as serious harm unless it was carried out over the entire country simultaneously.