History has its eyes on the Senate this week as it conducts the impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump on the charge of inciting insurrection. I forced myself to watch the 13-minute video that the House impeachment managers showed as a part of their case; though the video is jarring given the profanity and graphic violence, I think it should be shown in every high school civics class, maybe even to adults in every church. The video is damning evidence that Trump was directly responsible for inciting the criminal actions of the “Stop the Steal” rioters, which ultimately led to five deaths and more than 100 injuries.

I have already made the case that Trump should be impeached and that accountability is crucial to both safeguarding our democracy and to begin healing. This week, the House managers have been making a compelling argument that we can’t separate the siege of the Capitol from the “big lie” promulgated by former president Trump and his enablers before and after the election that the election was stolen — a lie rooted in our nation’s original sin of white supremacy. This lie has not gone away with a new administration; thanks to Trump’s co-conspirators and the silence of far too many within the church, it has spread. In fact, over 70 percent of Republican voters still believe the election was stolen.

This all could have been avoided: More prominent conservative Christian leaders and Christian media could have spoken out against the lie and reported the truth. Instead, many of them fanned the flames that led to this tragedy.

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