[ "Weve got to get people in government who actually believe in
government," said the Washington Democrat, "and who believe in
democracy, believe in voting, believe in our Constitution."]
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JAYAPAL TIES TRUMPIAN RHETORIC TO VIOLENT THREATS AGAINST US
LAWMAKERS AND DEMOCRACY  
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Jessica Corbett
September 11, 2022
Common Dreams
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_ "We've got to get people in government who actually believe in
government," said the Washington Democrat, "and who believe in
democracy, believe in voting, believe in our Constitution." _

,

 

"WE ARE AT A precipice and we're counting on the American people to
come through—and I have hope that people will realize that we have
to turn this clock back."

That's what U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the
Congressional Progressive Caucus, told
[[link removed]] _MSNBC_'s
Ali Velshi Saturday in an interview about how rhetoric
[[link removed]] from
former President Donald Trump and his political allies—including
their "Big Lie" that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by
Democrats—connects to threats against both American democracy and
individual lawmakers, including her.

The interview came just two days after Jayapal released audio of some
threatening voicemails she has received and _The Washington
Post_ published
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detailed account of her experience on July 9, when an armed man who
lives just seven blocks away yelled obscenities outside her Seattle
home. According to the newspaper, Brett Forsell's pistol was seized by
police and he is now out on bail.

"This is not normal. We should not accept it as normal," Jayapal said
after Velshi aired some of the messages. "Where the hell are we as a
country when this is becoming normalized? And so that's part of the
reason I did the story and that I released some of the
voicemails—those are just a fraction of what we've received, along
with death threats and many other things."

"I think it's important that people understand the connections between
the Big Lie, January 6th, and what happened at my house, and see how
these things are affecting each of us individually and then all of us
as a society," she continued, referencing when a pro-Trump mob stormed
the U.S. Capitol last year. "I wanted people to be aware of what we're
dealing with so that we can reject it and say we gotta put whatever
has been unleashed back away and not allow this to be normal."

Asked by Velshi how her experience with threats of violence has
changed over the years, Jayapal responded that "it's completely
different over the last… four to five years—really since Donald
Trump was in the White House and actually allowing and promoting this
kind of violence and political rhetoric, racism, and sexism."

Citing her own experiences at protests, she stressed that "there's a
big difference between protesting peacefully—free speech
peacefully—and showing up for harassment with a gun at somebody's
house in the middle of the night, constantly coming by and yelling
racist, sexist, xenophobic things."

"I think that what has changed is there's a sense that everything is
so unfair and it's been propelled by Donald Trump—the institutions
are unfair—that the only recourse is to violence, and that is an
extremely dangerous thing and we saw it come to fruition on January
6th, and now in ways that… I've seen outside my door, " she added.
"It is particularly bad if you're a woman of color."

The pair discussed some recent actions by Trump-friendly
[[link removed]] politicians—including
a June advertisement
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who lost
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Republican primary race for a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri, about
hunting "RINOs," or "Republicans in name only."

Jayapal called it "absolutely terrifying" and acknowledged some of
what's faced by Republicans like Reps. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Liz
Cheney (Wyo.), the only two members of the House select committee
investigating the Capitol attack. Kinzinger is not running for
reelection in November and Cheney lost her primary contest against
a Trump-backed
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Velshi and Jayapal also noted U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
repeatedly saying
[[link removed]] that
"there'll be riots in the streets" if Trump—whose Florida estate,
Mar-a-Lago, was raided
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month by federal agents executing a search warrant—is prosecuted for
mishandling classified documents
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"I find Sen. Graham's comments stunning—a sitting U.S. senator
essentially calling for riots in the street," said Jayapal. "This is a
very Trumpian, MAGA tactic: When you are being threatened with
justice, that you call for riots or violence. That is what led to
January 6th."

"MAGA," or "Make America Great Again," was a Trump slogan for the 2016
presidential race.

"We're in a very dangerous place… and I think it is important that
we understand what's at stake," Jayapal said about two months out from
the midterm elections. "It's important that we vote for people who do
not subscribe to the Big Lie, whether Republican or Democrat—that we
vote for people who are going to protect our institutions of
democracy."

_FiveThirtyEight_ on Tuesday published
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analysis revealing that among the Republican nominees for the U.S.
House and Senate as well as governor, secretary of state, and attorney
general on the ballot in November, 195 are 2020 election deniers, 61
are "doubters," and 115 did not have a discernible position and
declined to clarify.

Jayapal expressed hope for the future, highlighting that some
Trump-endorsed candidates—such as Sarah Palin, who just lost
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special election in Alaska for an open U.S. House seat—are being
rejected by voters.

Pointing out that Kansas voters last month opposed
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measure that would have paved the way for an abortion ban in the state
in the wake of the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court reversing
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v. Wade_, Jayapal argued that "we are seeing a rejection of the
extreme MAGA positions across the country."

"I think Americans will reject this," she said. "We have to make it
clear what the stakes are and we have to talk about what Democrats
have done—the remarkable things that we have been able to accomplish
with very small majorities."

"All of that is important, but we do need to lay out what is at stake
for our democracy and I think the January 6th committee is also doing
that and the Justice Department with the raid at Mar-a-Lago and all of
the things that we are finding out about nuclear secrets, other things
that would've been unimaginable even five years ago," the
congresswoman continued.

"We've got to get people in government who actually believe in
government," she added, "and who believe in democracy, believe in
voting, believe in our Constitution."

Jayapal's comments came after President Joe Biden, in a prime-time
speech earlier this month, warned
[[link removed]] Americans
about how MAGA Republicans and Trump—who's expected to run for
president in 2024, despite being the target of multiple legal
probes—threaten U.S. democracy.

_Jessica Corbett is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

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* Pramila Jayapal
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* democracy
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* right wing violence
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