Domestic Terrorism: A Sobering Reality

On January 6th, 2021, America fell victim to domestic terrorism. As Congress engaged in their constitutional duty to count the votes of the Electoral College, domestic terrorists stormed the United States Capitol. Brandishing baseball bats, Confederate flags, and armed with pepper spray and military grade zip ties, they climbed walls and pushed past Capitol Police to seize the Capitol building with the expressed intent to overturn the election results.

This was the first major attack on our nation’s capital since 1814, when the British burned it down during the War of 1812. And it will be remembered as one of the darkest days in our nation’s history.

Since losing the election in November, Trump has spent his time calling the election a fraud and falsely claiming he won. From late night Twitter tirades to raucous rallies, Trump has used every chance he has had to rile up his base with conspiracy theories of how he didn’t lose and how the election was stolen from him.

The attempted coup by extremists was fueled and enabled by Trump and Republican sycophants. They stoked fears and ignited violence through their battle cries of a rigged election and doubled down on conspiracy theories about fraudulent ballots being cast, and hacked voting machines.

The actions of these domestic terrorists highlighted their utter disregard for American democracy. The failed coup attempt is what happens when conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns are peddled by the president and parroted by insurrectionists.

During the attempted coup, Trump remained silent and watched from the safety of the White House as his dog whistle directive, “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” played out in real time at the U.S. Capitol. He was a co-conspirator in the act and allowed a full-on assault of American democracy while he turned a blind eye, refusing, it seems, to send in the National Guard. This is the act of a cowardly man who does not deserve to serve another day as Commander-in-Chief.

This is a sobering reality.

American democracy is a resilient, but fragile thing. When it finds itself in the crosshairs of a political demagogue determined to hold on to power by any means necessary and a group of supporters turned extremists willing to deliver on that goal. The outcome is a coup attempt to overthrow our government.

Trump’s exit from the presidency must be expedited, either through the enactment of the 25th Amendment or through impeachment. As a nation, we must call for the removal of President Trump from office. Send an email to your members of Congress now to demand that Trump is removed from office. Otherwise, American democracy will continue to suffer for every day Trump remains in the White House.

Let us stand up for our nation’s values, future generations, and the country we love so much by calling for the removal of Trump now.

Written for and originally published on Stand Up Republic