I'll let you decide which was worse for both the image and the safety of America as a democracy.
I mean,
well...
One was pretty much par for the course, and generally understood to be how we do things in America when anyone not of a privileged class expects equal treatment and opportunity. It just happened to be the case that between the 1960's and today, what constitutes the privileged class has shrunken considerably. In that regard, America's global image and safety as a "democracy" couldn't have possibly gotten worse.
In the other case, well, it was pretty much par for the course as well. The US just treated the US, the way the US treats Latin-American, African, and Middle Eastern countries for a change. In that regard, America's global image and safety as a "democracy" didn't get much worse, either.
Being both were weaponized as an excuse to expand the police state, I'd argue the "insurrection" was
far worse but not for the reason you might suggest. Democrats had to double down on the kayfabe of supporting superficial and ineffective justice system reforms after the Floyd/Taylor protests, but the "insurrection" got that cat back in the bag.