On Jan. 6, a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. Growing evidence suggests that they intended not only to violently compel Congress to extend President Donald Trump’s term but to apprehend and publicly execute the likes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence. They seemed to act at the behest of President Donald Trump.
Trump could not bring himself to unequivocally condemn this mob or correct his own lies that egged them on; instead he spoke of his “love” for the insurrectionists whose actions led to the death of a Capitol Hill police officer and who repeated Trump’s lies.
While a full criminal investigation and accounting are needed, we need a decisive political act to unite our nation: impeachment and removal. Any member of Congress who equivocates, based on what is in the public record and their own personal experience in a Capitol under attack, is ethically unfit to hold public office. It’s horrifying that Trump is not already impeached and removed. Every member of Congress needs to be on the record. Our republic deserves a unanimous rejection of violent insurrection and any president who would even wink in support of it. If any of our elected officials will admit they were meekly willing to go along had Trump succeeded (let alone wish he had), we need to know that, too.
John Nephew
Duluth
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