In 1861, 11 senators and 3 representatives were expelled from Congress for supporting the insurrection and refusing to recognize Lincoln’s electoral win. Today, congressmen and republican governors are calling for the impeachment and/or removal of treasonous President Trump under the 25th Amendment for inciting a domestic terrorist coup attempt to stop the Electoral College count that ended in 4 deaths yesterday, January 6th. Elected officials were forced to evacuate from the Capitol after armed MAGA insurrectionists branding nazi insignia, MAGA shirts, and explosives, hung nooses, and flew Confederate and nazi flags while trashing the Capitol and searching for the Electoral College votes. Trump continued inciting the mob reiterating his lie that, “we had an election stolen from us…this was a fraudulent election,” and told them “We love you, you’re very special,” before telling them to go home. Donald Trump Jr. filmed the President watching the violent coup gleefully. Only 14 were arrested yesterday as the National Guard and army present during peaceful Black Lives Matter protests were nowhere in sight during the break-in.
Trump and his allies lost 62 lawsuits, 3 recounts and staged a failed coup at the US Capitol to overturn a fair and free election.
Domestic terrorists were allowed to invade and destroy federal property freely while BLM protestors have been left disabled by rubber bullets, pulled by unmarked vans, and thrown on the concrete to bleed out. Our democracy and national security are on the verge of destruction if no consequences follow this terrorist coup d’etat attempted by the President of the United States. Donald Trump, the MAGA insurrectionists, and elected officials who inspired them must be tried for treason, sedition, and subversive activities under 18 USC Chapter 115. Cori Bush has already introduced legislation to sanction, remove House members from office who supported 2020 election challenges. The 147 who voted to disenfranchise voters in a bid to overturn free and fair elections must also face legal consequences.
Violent White Supremacist Insurrection at the Capitol
Not even during the Civil War did the Confederate flag make it to the Capitol, yet these Trump-supporting terrorists were allowed to invade and threaten congresspeople and staffers’ lives. This attack was orchestrated by the corrupt criminal authoritarian Trump regime because Vice President Pence failed to stop the Electoral College count.
Insurrectionists stormed the Capitol and broke in after a cop opened the gates. These attacks resulted in four deaths — yet only 14 arrests were made yesterday. Nooses were hung outside the Capitol and confederate flags waved inside. They released gas into the Capitol and stole federal property. Federal law enforcement found explosive devices as well. A protester in the Capitol appeared to be carrying a handgun on his hip along with zipties. Outside, Congresswoman Mary Miller quoted Hitler, “Hitler was right on one thing,” praising his political organization skills to a pro-Trump crowd. The insurrectionists chanted “the media is the enemy of the people,” destroyed equipment, and chased out reporters. Two insurrectionists even mocked George Floyd’s death.
This extremist violence is a widespread ideology — 45% of Republicans approve of the storming of the Capitol building. And we’re meant to accept this extremism as “economic anxiety?”
What Incited the Terrorist Attack on the Capitol
Despite this failed coup, Congress confirmed the results of the Electoral College this morning. Joe Biden will be sworn in as President of the United States at noon on January 20.
Trump and his allies lost 62 lawsuits, 3 recounts and staged a failed coup at the US Capitol to avoid this result.
Trump’s incitement of violence to overthrow the election results is well-documented. He organized the insurrection, even tweeting out on December 30th, “JANUARY 6TH, SEE YOU IN DC!” He has repeatedly called on his supporters to take action if he lost. He’s told the “Proud Boys” to “stand back and stand by,” called the violent Charlottesville nazis “very fine people,” has told his supporters to fight protestors, telling them, “I’ll pay your legal fees,” and told terrorists who committed sedition yesterday, “We love you, you’re very special,” while continuing to push false claims of election fraud that even his own attorney general has debunked.
While the insurrection was ongoing, Trump sent out a message to the violent mob reiterating his lie that they “had an election stolen from [them]…this was a fraudulent election.” The Trump family even gleefully watched the violent mob. Meanwhile, in response to peaceful Black Lives Matter protests, Trump said, “When the looting starts the shooting starts.”
This attempted coup is on Donald Trump and he must be held responsible for endangering the lives of congressmen and staffers in an attempt to overturn an election.
It’s not only Trump that should be held responsible but also lawyers like Rudy Giuliani who echoed his rigged election claims and declared, “let’s have trial by combat,” to a crowd.
The seditious seven congressmen who voted to invalidate the election also propagated the election fraud myth which incited this heinous insurrection. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Cynthia Lummis, Roger Marshall, Rick Scott, and Tommy Tuberville all voted to overthrow American democracy. Ted Cruz even solicited donations through a text while the mob took over the Capitol, stating, “I’m leading the fight to reject electors.” Moreover, 147 Republicans voted to disenfranchise voters yesterday in a bid to overturn free and fair elections.
The United States Constitution gives the US Senate the power to expel any member by a two-thirds vote and that power should be exercised lest this happens again. It was exercised in
In 1861, 11 senators and 3 representatives were expelled from Congress for supporting the insurrection and refusing to recognize Lincoln’s electoral win. Self-serving attempts at sedition are a threat to democracy.
Law Enforcement Complicity
But it wasn’t just elected officials who allowed this Capitol invasion to happen. Law enforcement was filmed opening the gates, waving white supremacists in all while refusing to call the National Guard for backup. The domestic terrorists who committed sedition took selfies with cops, walked around stealing federal property, and were calmly escorted out. The cognitive dissonance in the way law enforcement treats these domestic terrorists versus how it treats peaceful Black and brown protestors is despicable. The National Guard and army were present during Black Lives Matter protests where innocent, unarmed people lost their eyes, were taken in unmarked vans, and injured by military-grade riot gear.
There were over 14,000 arrests at the George Floyd protests, yet only 14 made last night. We had a serious act of domestic terrorism and no law enforcement agency issued a statement. These right-wing terrorists threatened the safety of congresspeople and were free to go. While officers shoved an innocent 75-year-old man so hard he cracked his skull on the pavement in Buffalo, New York. Militarized police once even broke up a peaceful violin vigil for an innocent young man an officer killed.
This was not a security breach. The Capitol terrorists planned the threats online for weeks and agencies and personnel did not race to secure the Capitol. We spend $740 billion a year on defense and we failed to protect our nation’s Capitol from armed domestic terrorists.
Impeachment, Removal, and Prosecution?
Bipartisan calls for impeachment are gathering momentum from elected officials. Rep. Ilhan Omar began drawing the Articles of Impeachment yesterday tweeting, “Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate.” Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and other democrats have called for Trump to be removed by impeachment or the 25th Amendment to bar the demagogue from ever holding public office and endangering American lives ever again. All the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee just wrote a letter to Vice President Pence, urging him to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also called for Trump to resign or be removed. Furthermore, Cori Bush introduced legislation to sanction, remove House members from office who supported 2020 election challenges.
Officials feel that the nation is at grave risk as long as he remains in power with the capability to influence his cult following to commit more dangerous crimes through his lies. For this reason, Facebook and Instagram have blocked President Trump’s accounts “indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete,” according to Zuckerberg.
18 USC Chapter 115
The impeachment resolutions have been written. Per these Articles, President Donald J. Trump must be impeached and removed based on two charges. The first — demanding that the Georgia secretary of state “find votes” and his abuse of power in inciting a coup at the Capitol, and the second — incitement of insurrection. Donald Trump must be impeached and removed and members of congress who attempted to overthrow a free and fair election can be charged with sedition.
The main three laws broken by the Capitol MAGA insurrectionists are under 18 USC Chapter 115 – treason, sedition, and subversive activities — § 2383. rebellion or insurrection, § 2384. seditious conspiracy, and § 2385. advocating the overthrow of the government.
More charges could fall under the following laws:
18 USC § 231 – Civil disorders
18 USC § 241 – Conspiracy against rights
18 USC § 371–373 – Conspiracy
18 U.S. Code § 842 – Explosives
38 U.S. Code § 930 – firearms in federal facilities
18 USC 1361 – damage to gov’t property
18 USC 2101 – riots
18 USC 2112, 2114 – robbery/burglary of federal property
14) 18 USC 1505:
15) 40 U.S.C. 5104 prohibits bringing weapons into the Capitol or engaging in “violent entry and disorderly conduct
This didn’t happen in a vacuum. Four years of Trump’s vitriolic hatred, lies, and demagoguery proliferated all over fake news media channels like Facebook got us here. A coup was orchestrated by domestic terrorists to overthrow an election and law enforcement waived them in, Trump watched and kept fueling the lies about the election that encouraged them. Not even during the Civil War did the treasonous confederate flag make it to the Capitol. It wasn’t a failure, it was a win for these right-wing extremists and a lack of repercussions erases the legal lines making room for even more attacks. Donald J. Trump and his enablers must be removed and charged for encouraging an insurrection, an attempted coup.
As Voltaire once said, “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” We must not allow demagoguery to go unchecked. Facts must prevail. Democracy must survive.
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