Dear John,
 

Yesterday’s violent insurrection, incited by the President and supported by some members of Congress, led to an unprecedented breach on the United States Capitol. This tension has been brewing since President Trump first cast suspicion over the legitimacy of our national elections by spreading conspiracy theories that have cascaded into violence. 

In remarks to the Senate, Sen. Mitt Romney said “what happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States.
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Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis blamed President Trump for the “violent assault on our Capitol,” which he called “an effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule.” Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the impeachment hearings against President Trump said the events at the Capitol could be categorized as a "failed coup." 

Acts of sedition are a crime under 18 U.S. Code § 2383 which characterizes it as two or more people who conspire to overthrow the U.S. government, or "prevent, hinder, or delay the execution" of U.S. law by force. It's punishable by a fine and up to 20 years in prison. Trump’s rhetoric has galvanized the sentiments of many of those who gathered yesterday and attached their interests to those also sympathetic to white supremacy. Trump’s rhetoric bolsters these movements, as does the complicity by members of Congress who ‘stand back and stand by.’ 

What we saw yesterday may have been a deliberate breakdown in communication between the very law enforcement agencies we convened around national security. The research in our policy paper, “The White Supremacist Threat to America,” shows that our government agencies “sidestep scrutiny over how it addresses white supremacist terrorism.” These were the very institutions that were designed to protect our national security and who have publicly declared a renewed focus on “white supremacist violence.” 

Had the insurrection been conducted by members of the Black or Muslim community, the response from law enforcement and the public would have had significant and likely deadly consequences. We must have an important conversation about the experience of people of color and minority populations with law enforcement. As we saw this past summer, law enforcement has the capacity to use proportionate or disproportionate force at will.

Yesterday’s events have cast us into a new historical moment. Our collective future depends on our choice between the protection or destruction of our Democracy. Based on these developments and statements made by our highest representatives in government, MPAC joins calls to remove Trump for his gross assault on the U.S. Constitution.