Dear MoveOn member,
We will not forget that the violent mob of white supremacists who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday carrying guns, pipe bombs, sledgehammers, and zip ties were directly incited to act and supported not only by Donald Trump, but also by leaders of the Republican Party, who knew exactly what they were doing and how dangerous it could be.
Just moments before the mob began to march toward the Capitol, Rudy Giuliani said that there should be a "trial by combat" to keep Trump in power.1
Republican Senator Josh Hawley was photographed enthusiastically greeting some of those who would participate in the siege in the hours before it began.2
Republican Senator Ted Cruz repeated conspiracy theories about nonexistent election fraud on the floor of the Senate, and even after the attempted coup, he still voted to stop the certification of our free and fair election.3
And as the mob was occupying the Capitol, Trump released a video reiterating that they were "very special people" and telling them that he loved them.4
Donald Trump should immediately be removed from office, but that is only the beginning. He should be prosecuted for his part in inciting a riot, and Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, and the other elected officials in Congress who supported the effort should resign or be expelled. And if they don't leave office now, they must be defeated at the ballot box.
MoveOn is launching an all-hands-on-deck campaign to ensure that all of the Republican officials who helped incite Wednesday's violence are held accountable for their part. Will you chip in $5 a month to fuel this effort for as long as it takes to hold these seditionists accountable?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Let's be very clear: No elected official who showed support for the movement that led to Wednesday's siege should hold an ounce of power in Washington.
And because of our victories in Georgia, Democrats will soon control both houses of Congress and must wield every ounce of their power to strip the House and Senate members who voted to overturn the election of leadership positions and committee assignments, and they must move forward with resolutions to expel them from the chambers.
There is already a groundswell of bipartisan support for this. The two largest newspapers in Josh Hawley's home state of Missouri have called on him to resign for his actions, and his publisher has dropped his upcoming book deal—but we cannot let it stop there.5
Hawley, Cruz, and their fellow seditionists in the House and Senate wanted to use their power to consolidate support from Trump's base to propel them to further electoral victories and, in the case of Hawley and Cruz, runs for the White House in 2024.
Well, they certainly succeeded in consolidating the support of Trump's base, who shattered windows and climbed over barricades to support their efforts at overturning the election and undermining our democracy.
We cannot and will not let them get away with this. They must be held accountable and removed from Congress—and if they are not, then we will remove them at the ballot box.
We need your help to run this campaign, John. From buying newspaper, TV, and digital ads; holding rallies; flooding Congress with calls; putting up billboards; running electoral campaigns to defeat them; and more, we're ready and willing to do whatever it takes to get this done.
Will you chip in $5 a month to power this work for as long as it takes?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Thanks for all you do.
–David, Chris, Eric, Vicki, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Rudy Giuliani Called For 'Trial By Combat' Before Wednesday’s Violence," HuffPost, January 7, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149268?t=6&akid=287606%2E40999114%2ElKPxEI
2. "Hawley sent fundraising email on election objection as Capitol descended into chaos," The Kansas City Star, January 6, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149261?t=8&akid=287606%2E40999114%2ElKPxEI
3. "Ted Cruz says he'd object to Biden electors even knowing about riot, blasts Trump for 'reckless' rhetoric," The Dallas Morning News, January 7, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149269?t=10&akid=287606%2E40999114%2ElKPxEI
4. "Trump tells his violent supporters who stormed the Capitol 'you're very special,' but asks them 'to go home,'" Business Insider, January 6, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149254?t=12&akid=287606%2E40999114%2ElKPxEI
5. "As Josh Hawley loses a book deal over the Capitol riots, his GOP mentor says backing him was 'the worst mistake I ever made,'" The Washington Post, January 8, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149302?t=14&akid=287606%2E40999114%2ElKPxEI
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