Dear MoveOn member,
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security warned publicly for the first time that the country faces a growing threat from "violent domestic extremists" emboldened by the Capitol attack.1
The department said that the extremists' motivation includes anger over "the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives."2
Also on Wednesday, the Capitol Police announced the January 6 white supremacist insurrection left nearly 140 officers injured, including some who suffered brain injuries or smashed spinal discs.3 And in addition to the five people, including one officer, who died in the attack, two additional officers present during the siege have since died by suicide.4
Yet Republican leaders are saying "it's time to move on" from the insurrection, and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy just rewarded GOP members who helped incite the violence, such as Representative Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who tweeted "Today is 1776" before the Capitol riot, and QAnon-supporting Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, with coveted committee assignments.5,6
The 14th Amendment says that someone who "engaged in insurrection" cannot serve in Congress. The Democratic majority must do everything in their power to remove the members of Congress who incited violence and attempted to violently overturn the results of the November election.
That's why MoveOn is leading a massive effort to hold the insurrectionists accountable by demanding their immediate resignation or expulsion from Congress. We're prepared to go big with TV ads, billboards, and "homepage takeover" ads blanketing the websites of local newspapers in the seditionists' districts, and we need your help to ensure we have the resources to hold these traitors accountable, no matter how long it takes. Will you chip in $5 a month to help make it possible?
Yes, I'll chip in monthly to help remove seditionists from Congress.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
CNN reported last week that Rep. Greene—who wears to the Capitol a black face mask with large white letters that read, "TRUMP WON"—repeatedly backed calls for the execution of Democratic lawmakers, including Nancy Pelosi, and FBI agents who she believed were part of the "deep state" working against Trump.7 She indicated support for Pelosi's getting "a bullet to the head" and urged her ouster "through removal or death, doesn't matter, as long as she goes."8
Marjorie Taylor Greene's posts may be more blatant than anything we've seen so far, but they are consistent with statements made in the lead-up to the January 6 insurrection from Republican members of Congress like Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar, and Madison Cawthorn.
The violence we saw on January 6 is dangerously close to becoming a normalized part of the GOP playbook. And, as last week's warning from the Department of Homeland Security makes clear, the threat of further violence remains.
Unless there are clear, legal consequences for these actions, the Republicans who took part will believe that they got away with it and try again, potentially with even more bloodshed.
We have an ambitious plan to hold Rep. Greene and the other January 6 seditionists accountable:
- We're mobilizing pressure on these Republicans in their home districts to demand their resignation and are prepared to launch billboards, TV ads, and online messaging so that constituents know exactly how dangerous their representatives' words and actions are.
- At the same time, we're building grassroots support for Democratic leaders in Congress to use their authority to enforce the 14th Amendment by expelling Rep. Greene and the others who aided and organized the January 6 insurrection.
If the GOP seditionists aren't removed by resignation or expulsion, they must be defeated for re-election when they face the voters in 2022.
But our resources come from our members, and we can't make it happen without you. Will you chip in $5 a month to power this work?
Yes, I'll chip in monthly to help remove seditionists from Congress.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Together, we will not let incitements to white supremacist violence become normalized or swept under the rug.
Thanks for all you do.
–Arvin, Ankur, Amy, Allison, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Extremists Emboldened by Capitol Attack Pose Rising Threat, Homeland Security Says," The New York Times, January 28, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149760?t=6&akid=289127%2E10220574%2EePfyaF
2. Ibid.
3. "Police union says 140 officers injured in Capitol riot," The Washington Post, January 27, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149761?t=8&akid=289127%2E10220574%2EePfyaF
4. "Second police officer died by suicide following Capitol attack," Politico, January 27, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149762?t=10&akid=289127%2E10220574%2EePfyaF
5. "Ted Cruz, Who Obsessed Over Clinton Emails, Wants To 'Move On' From Insurrection," HuffPost, January 27, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149763?t=12&akid=289127%2E10220574%2EePfyaF
6. "Republicans back away from confronting Trump and his loyalists after the Capitol insurrection, embracing them instead," The Washington Post, January 27, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149764?t=14&akid=289127%2E10220574%2EePfyaF
7. "Marjorie Taylor Greene indicated support for executing prominent Democrats in 2018 and 2019 before running for Congress," CNN, January 26, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149744?t=16&akid=289127%2E10220574%2EePfyaF
8. Ibid.
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