On January 6, 2021 we witnessed an unprecedented attack on our nations capitol. Unlike any other political demonstrations in our history, a mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol Building in Washington DC, attempting to prevent a joint session of Congress from counting the electoral votes and formalizing the victory of then President Elect, Joe Biden. The mob attacked while congress was in the process of certifying a fair and free election in which Joe Biden won. It happened in the context of Donald Trump's continued lie, that the election had been stolen. The election has not been stolen.
That is why this issue is about more than just an unequivocal condemnation of the mob that sacked the capitol, it is more than just about prosecuting those involved. It is about identifying that this was an act of sedition. Before the election had taken place, Trump was already laying the ground work for what he truly intended, saying that the election would be a fraud if he didn't win. His actions and words surrounding the so called fraud and stolen election demonstrates that Trump attempted to overthrow a democratic election and all those that continue to support the lie of a stolen election will keep stoking the flames of insurrection, sedition and criminality. The reason trump needs to be impeached and banned from ever holding office again is because he has acted seditiously.
Donald Trump had every right to contest the election and he did use every opportunity to do that. So after every legal avenue had been exhausted, and after his own administration and state election officials confirmed that there was no election fraud at the level to overturn the results, Trump should have conceded and continued the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power. His actions and inactions on January 6 are inexcusable.
From Charlottesville, to the threat to kidnap the Michigan governor, to the sacking of the capitol we have seen a continued escalation by white supremacists. Over thirty members of anti-government and white supremacist groups like Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and Three Presenters were involved in the riot. When the President re-tweets messages like “the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat”, and then we see the kind of thing that happened at the capitol, we can reasonably conclude that Trump is intentionally stoking a violent and seditious response to keep himself in power. The threat of further violence of this magnitude in the future is real. Chris Kreb former director of Cyber security has warned:
“There is going to be violence in the run-up to the inauguration. This is not over. There will be more...The president has to declare that this was a free and fair election. He lost. He still has time to do what’s right. It has to happen. There will be more bloodshed.” (Chris Kreb former director of cyber security)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former actor and Republican governor of California, noted this weekend that in Austria, he was aware of Kristallnacht, or the “Night of the Broken Glass”, when the Nazi's, the equivalent of the Proud Boys, rioted against the Jews in 1939, “Wednesday was the day of broken glass right here in the United States...but the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol. They shattered the ideas we took for granted.” This is why Trump must be banned from forever holding office in any capacity, this is why Trumpism has to be condemned, and this is why leaders need to speak out.
This is not a partisan post, all members of law abiding parties be it on the right or left, Republicans or Democrats, should recognize the lawlessness of January 6 and Trump's involvement and responsibility for both the continued support of the lie that he won the election and his attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and hold on to power and should condemn his actions and those of his followers.
(Quote from former Gov. Schwarzenegger from article by CNN Dakin Andone, video widely available on numerous news outlets)
(Numerous news outlets have reported the video Trump re-tweeted, while the speaker claims that he is not speaking literally, the events at the capitol demonstrate that many people may indeed have taken these comments literally)
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