Wednesday, January 6, 2021 will long be remembered as the darkest day in American political history. Just as Nixon will always be remembered for nothing other than Watergate, Donald Trump should never be remembered for anything but his encouragement of an angry mob who he told to march on Capitol Hill and “take back” their government. It ended with four people dead, several more injured, and American elected officials fleeing for their lives.
#BREAKING – The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., says his office has brought 55 cases against members of the mob that overran the Capitol. https://t.co/EAdDqkGOPl
— KWTX News 10 (@kwtx) January 7, 2021
Those responsible will not and should not be allowed to walk away from this. On Thursday, acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Michael Sherwin, announced that he has no intention of letting them or anyone who encouraged them escape justice.
According to The Hill:
‘The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., said Thursday that his office has brought 55 cases against members of the mob that overran the Capitol, and that he’s open to adding serious felony charges against both those involved in and those who helped instigate the riot.
‘Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. Attorney for D.C., said that the charges were brought in the district’s federal and local courts and that more could follow, adding that “all options are on the table.”‘
What we witnessed yesterday was not dissent — it was disorder.
They weren’t protestors — they were rioters, insurrectionists, and domestic terrorists.
I wish we could say we couldn’t see it coming, but that isn’t true. We could.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 7, 2021
There are two things that are most important in the wake of the first armed insurrection of our federal government since 1812. The first is holding the people who participated, who brought weapons into the halls of Congress, vandalized those sacred halls, terrorized our elected officials, and caused people to be killed. It’s crucial, in fact, that these people are held to the strictest letter of the law to prevent another attempt by angry mobs of Trump supporters, who are likely to try again and cause worse damage a second time around. An armed coup is treasonous and should be tried as such.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.
If he declines, they said, Democrats are prepared to impeach Trump a second time. https://t.co/jln63wh165 pic.twitter.com/slNxpBkAYm
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 7, 2021
The second thing, and perhaps equally or even more important, is getting Donald Trump out of the White House. Not only is it too dangerous to allow him to have enough power to do worse, future administrations should know without a doubt that they won’t be allowed to get away with the things that Trump has done.
We knew he was unfit to serve in the highest office in the land when he called undocumented Latino immigrants “rapists and drug dealers.” We knew it when a mass shooter used Trump’s words in a manifesto declaring why he felt compelled to open fire in a crowded building full of Latino immigrants. We knew it when he called neo-Nazis “very fine people.” We knew it when one of his supporters sent pipe bombs to public figures and media outlets. We knew it when he told his white supremacist followers to “stand by” rather than denouncing them, and we definitely knew it when some of his supporters plotted to kidnap and kill the governor of Michigan because Trump convinced them she was evil.
We knew it, and we said over and over again, and it’s long past time. Trump needs to leave the White House today.
52 arrested, 4 dead, 14 DC police officers injured amid pro-Trump riots at the U.S. Capitol https://t.co/gmWtqkN8cF via @wfaa
— Annie Gabston-Howell- (@AnnieGabstonH) January 7, 2021
Featured image screenshot via YouTube