Insurrectionism at U.S. Capitol Long in the Making, Endangers American Democracy
WASHINGTON -- In response to insurrectionists storming the U.S. Capitol today, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Executive Director Josh Horwitz, an expert on armed insurrectionist movements in the United States, issued the following statement:
“It is a dark and frightening day in our nation as domestic terrorists siege the United States Capitol -- the very center of our democracy.
“I’ve been warning for the last decade that armed violent political extremism was on the rise. Coupled with easy access to firearms and endorsed both tacitly and explicitly by right-wing politicians and the gun lobby, today is the predictable result of an ideology that promotes armed violence as a legitimate response to political disagreements.
Since 2015, we have seen President Trump encourage political violence, building a rhetoric that has led us to today. He suggested that those protesting his rallies should be beaten up, said that “2nd Amendment people” could stop Secretary Hillary Clinton, called armed domestic terrorists in Charlottesville “fine people,” and tweeted at his followers to “liberate” states from COVID-related public health restrictions and Today, he shockingly told these insurrectionists, “We love you. You’re very special,” affirming their abhorrent behavior.
“Although Trump magnified this insurrection, he is far from the first to suggest that violence is a political tool. Large portions of the Republican party and the gun lobby have normalized the idea that threatening a violent overthrow of government is within normal bounds of political discourse. President Trump’s insurrection will not succeed, but the ideology has fueled a deadly proliferation of guns in our country and the rise in domestic terrorism. Moving forward, all elected officials must unambiguously reject insurrectionism and commit to meaningful gun law reforms.”
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Josh Horwitz
Executive Director
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
