Friend - The millions of marchers, demonstrators, protestors, and people out on the streets yesterday, today, and the last few weeks in big cities and small towns across our country show the very best of who we can be. People are rising up for long needed, urgent change to stop police brutality, end structural and all racism, and defund the police* in order to defend Black lives and build a nation that is better, safer, and healthier.
In this powerful and critical moment where people are coming together to demand racial justice under the leadership of organizations like the Movement for Black Lives, President Trump unlawfully ordered troops to use force to disperse protestors. He also threatened to unlawfully call in active duty troops to intimidate and attack protesters exercising our First Amendment rights under the constitution. [1]
MomsRising is joining the Movement for Black Lives, and dozens of other organizations, in telling President Trump to resign, so when you add your voice here, your action will help continue to create a tsunami of change.
Thank you for all you do!
* Want more info on what defunding the police means? Here’s background on this policy from the Movement for Black Lives: “We call on localities and elected officials across the country to divest resources away from policing in local budgets and reallocate those resources to the healthcare, housing and education our people deserve. More officers, guns, jails and prisons are not a solution to longstanding problems of racial disparities, injustice and police violence.”
→ See below for the message you may have missed on Friday.
[1] Dempsey: Trump's 'inflammatory' threat to use active duty troops hurts US military
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Dear Friend,
On Monday, moms across America were appalled, disheartened, aghast, stunned, unnerved, outraged, dumbfounded… (all the words!!) when law enforcement officers were ordered to deploy tear gas and shoot rubber bullets on peaceful protestors who were standing against police brutality while assembling near the White House before a curfew for President Trump.[1] This is a violation of First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution, and a breach of our democracy.[2] Then, President Trump doubled down, praising the attack on peaceful protestors, as he also went on to threaten to deploy the U.S. military to cities and states.[3]
WHAT?!
MomsRising is joining the Movement for Black Lives, and dozens of other organizations, in telling President Trump to resign, so when you add your voice here, your action will help create a tsunami of change.
Why tell President Trump to resign? President Trump too must be held accountable for his part in encouraging police violence and for his threats to use military action against protesters. Not only has Trump initiated violent attacks on peaceful protesters, he has also long actively encouraged both police brutality -- such as telling police to “Please, don’t be too nice,” to the people they are arresting [4] -- as well as condoning white supremacist violence.[5]
It’s beyond appalling. Trump has given a green light to police and militias to beat, maim and kill people with impunity. He has now illegally activated the military to maintain power and use force on civilians. The red line has been crossed too many times. He must resign. Lives and our democracy depend on it.
So we are joining the Movement for Black Lives, and dozens of other organizations, to hold President Trump accountable. President Trump lives in his own bubble and hears only what he wants to hear. But he must be held publicly accountable for his role in encouraging police to use violence both in the past and during the current protests.
The right to protest is one of the bedrock foundations of our democracy and has led to vitally important advances throughout our history. In the United States of America, we have the right to protest, to make our voices heard, and to speak truth to power. The brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police deserves the sustained, furious national response it has generated, with people taking a stand against the horrific racism that has long pervaded our criminal justice system – and our society – and time and again takes innocent lives. This is our First Amendment right and our civic responsibility. That is why it is so alarming that President Trump brutally unleashed military and police force on people who were peacefully protesting in front of the White House and on independent media covering the demonstrations.
What happened in the District of Columbia earlier this week – when heavily militarized forces used tear gas, rubber bullets and then low-flying helicopters to move and then terrorize law-abiding, peaceful protesters – was an outrage. Trump’s call for militarized armed violence against protesters was shocking in both its naked authoritarianism and its instigation of violence - and is not a direction the moms of America will allow our country to take in the future. The escalation President Trump seeks is especially dangerous in a country with more guns than people; and where gun policy, including the Second Amendment, which the President referenced earlier this week in a way that to many appeared to condone more violence, has been used as a force to advance white supremacist organizations.[6]
America’s moms are horrified and repulsed by this President’s words and actions. For the sake of the freedoms and ideals our country has always strived to embody, and for the safety of people struggling to be heard, we must take action now.
*Don’t forget to tell President Trump to resign -- and also to tell Congress to stand up and condemn Trump’s military attack on people peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights and his threat to use military action against protesters: https://action.momsrising.org/sign/trump-resign
The more of us who take action, sign on, and spread the word; the faster we’ll make change happen. So please forward this email to 3 friends, share this action link on Facebook and Twitter, and help spread the word.
Thank you for helping to build a nation where everyone can thrive!
-Kristin, Gloria, Donna, Jordan, Monifa, and the MomsRising Team
P.S.– We thank the Movement for Black Lives for leading on the Trump Must Resign effort. To find out more about The Movement for Black Lives, please go here: https://defendblacklives.org
[1] "Some clarity a day after reports of tear gas in Lafayette Square, but questions remain," Dan Friedell
[2] "Former Commanders Fault Trump’s Use of Troops Against Protesters," Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and Jennifer Steinhauer
[3] "Tear Gas Clears Path for Trump to Visit Church", "Barr personally ordered removal of protesters near White House, leading to use of force against largely peaceful crowd," Carol D. Leonnig, Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey and Rebecca Tan
[4] "Trump tells cops they should rough people up more during arrests," Kelly Swanson
[5] "Twitter Adds Warnings to Trump and White House Tweets, Fueling Tensions," Davey Alba, Kate Conger and Raymond Zhong
[6] "Trump mentioned the 'second amendment' in his speech about the protests and people are terrified," Greg Evans
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