Madam Speaker, I rise today in outrage and sadness at the insurrection and attempted coup we saw in this very building on January 6. There is no doubt this attack was instigated by President Trump and responsibility for the violence rests…
Madam Speaker, I rise today in outrage and sadness at the insurrection and attempted coup we saw in this very building on January 6. There is no doubt this attack was instigated by President Trump and responsibility for the violence rests with him and his supporters who ransacked the People's House.
I'd like to include in the Record the following statement from my constituents, the Youngstown Warren Black Caucus write:
The Youngstown Warren Black Caucus is outraged by the act
of domestic terrorists at our nations' Capitol Building
yesterday. Although we are angry and saddened, we agree with
our 44th President Barack Obama's statement that it was not a
total surprise.
Donald Trump and many Republican members of Congress who
attempted to disenfranchise the votes of 81 million citizens
have been encouraging insurrection by their voters. Even
after multiple recounts, legal defeats, and explanation of
the constitution and how elections are run, Trump continued
to spout lies about the election that he lost. He and his
personal attorney Rudy Giuliani have been telling their
supporters for 2 months that the election was fraudulent and
that there was a chance they could change the outcome if
people just complained, protested, and demanded they won
knowing full well the outcome could not be changed. While the
majority of the nation understood that was untrue, their most
loyal supporters believed them. For his final act of defiance
to democracy, Trump invited thousands of supporters to DC
yesterday for a rally and march to the Capitol building to
``stop the steal'' before Congress would certify the
Electoral College votes that have already been certified by
every state in the nation. Sadly, they listened to the
instructions of these liars and our nations' Capitol building
was breached for the first time since the War of 1812.
Besides the obvious need to punish anyone who broke the
law, we believe those who incited this insurrection must be
held accountable for the betrayal to our nation. That
includes Trump and members of Congress who attempted to throw
out the results of the presidential election and Insurrection
is a criminal act which is why we join the NAACP, Urban
League, and National Action Network in calling for the
resignation or removal of Donald Trump. He is anything but a
patriot.
Last, but certainly not least, our members are appalled by
the continued disparate treatment by law enforcement between
white and black Americans. Back in June of 2020 a peaceful
protest by Black Lives Matter demonstrators outside the White
House was charged by numerous law enforcement entities to
clear a block so that Trump could walk across the street and
hold a Bible upside down outside a neighborhood church.
Conversely, the angry mob of thousands of rioters were met
with little resistance. Some Capitol police held the doors
open for the rioters, others took pictures with them as they
headed towards Congressional Chambers and offices to
vandalize, steal, and destroy federal property.
The event made it painfully clear that there are 2 justice
systems in America. One for black and brown people and their
white allies, and a separate one for domestic terrorists who
embrace white supremacy. It is ridiculous that we are still
having this conversation 245 years after the founding of this
nation. America must live up to her promise of ``and justice
for all.''
I thank the Capitol Police and other law enforcement personnel for their work to protect Members and all who work in the Capitol Complex. However, it is obvious that there were systematic breakdowns in security that need to be addressed. We must get to the bottom of these breakdowns and prevent them from ever happening again.