Dear MoveOn member,
Shocking new footage from the siege of the Capitol was released over the weekend, and it is the clearest evidence yet that the white supremacist mob believed that they were acting on direct orders from Donald Trump and with the support of seditionists in Congress.
While ransacking the Senate chamber, one rioter says, "Ted Cruz would want us to do this."1
As a mob confronts Capitol Police inside Congress, one yells, "You're outnumbered. There's a f***ing million of us out there. And we are listening to Trump, your boss!"2
It is clear that the rhetoric and direct calls to action not just from Trump but from senators like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, and members of the House like Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mo Brooks, Jim Jordan, Kevin McCarthy, and more led to the events at the Capitol on January 6, and each of them must be held accountable.
MoveOn is running an all-hands-on-deck campaign to demand that these seditionist members of Congress be removed and held accountable for their part in the deadly events, including taking over the homepages of the major newspapers in Texas and Missouri demanding the removal of Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley. Will you chip in $5 a month to help us run these ads, flood Congress with phone calls, buy billboard space, and and keep our campaign going for as long as it takes to demand justice?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Make no mistake: It was because of the constant repetition of the lie by Trump, Hawley, Cruz, and 145 other Republicans in Congress that—absent a shred of evidence—the election had somehow been stolen from Trump that led thousands of his most ardent and volatile supporters to join him at the Capitol on January 6, and no political spin or mealy-mouthed disavowing of violence after the fact takes away their culpability.3
One of the planners of the riot has also claimed that three members of Congress—Mo Brooks, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar—were directly involved in the planning of the event, and reporting from inside the Capitol suggests that other Republican members of Congress may have led participants in the white supremacist mob on "reconnaissance tours" the day before the riot.4,5
If either of these claims is proven to be true, not only must these members of Congress be immediately expelled from the chamber, but they must also be held criminally responsible for their roles.
MoveOn is already mounting an enormous campaign to ensure that Trump is convicted in his Senate impeachment trial next week, but we cannot stop there. Trump alone did not cause the events of January 6. His supporters in Congress fanned the flames that led to an egregious attack on our democracy, and they cannot get away with it.
Will you chip in $5 a month to power our all-hands-on-deck campaign to hold seditionist members of Congress accountable?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Despite the efforts of those members of Congress and the rioters, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated tomorrow, and we will finally begin to turn the page on the violence, hatred, cruelty, and corruption that defined the last four years.
But even as we move forward, we cannot forget what led to the deadly assault on our democracy on January 6.
The 139 Republican members of Congress and eight senators who perpetuated Trump's lies and voted against certifying the election do not believe in our democratic ideals.6 They do not believe in the foundational principle of our elections' being determined by the will of the people. And every second that they continue to hold power in Washington puts our country at risk.
MoveOn was built for this fight, and we are ready to lead it. We will do whatever it takes to demand that these seditionists be removed from Congress immediately—and if they are not, we will need a people-powered charge to remove them at the ballot box.
We need you with us in the effort to protect our democracy, John. Will you chip in $5 a month, or whatever you can afford?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Thanks for all you do.
–Arvin, Mohammad, Dan, Emma, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Among the Insurrectionists," The New Yorker, January 17, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149575?t=8&akid=288267%2E40999114%2EkiZeWJ
2. Ibid.
3. "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results," The New York Times, January 7, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149353?t=10&akid=288267%2E40999114%2EkiZeWJ
4. "A 'Stop the Steal' organizer, now banned by Twitter, said three GOP lawmakers helped plan his D.C. rally," The Washington Post, January 13, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149349?t=12&akid=288267%2E40999114%2EkiZeWJ
5. "Republican lawmakers are accused of giving Capitol tours to insurrectionists before the riot as new inquiries are opened." The New York Times, January 13, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149576?t=14&akid=288267%2E40999114%2EkiZeWJ
6. "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results," The New York Times, January 7, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149353?t=16&akid=288267%2E40999114%2EkiZeWJ
Want to support our work? Incited by Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and other right-wing members of Congress, a white supremacist mob stormed our Capitol on January 6 in a deadly attempt to overthrow the will of the people. MoveOn has already launched a nationwide, all-hands-on-deck campaign to remove from office Cruz, Hawley, and others who aided and abetted this attack on our democracy, but we need your help to ensure we have the financial resources to keep our campaign going for as long as it takes.
Will you chip in to defend democracy and remove these GOP seditionists from office?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
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