I wrote this petition on behalf of the American people, who stand for Democracy and the rule of law.
We are demanding that U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland and the United States Justice Department, immediately open a criminal investigation to hold former President, Donald J. Trump accountable for the violent insurrection which took place on January 6, 2021 at our U.S. Capitol.
The peaceful transition of power is essential to a healthy democracy, therefore, Trump must be held accountable and never be allowed to hold public office again.
The House and Senate have spoken.
In Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, the House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump for, “incitement of insurrection”. The House Managers displayed videos that soundly establish the case that Donald Trump is guilty of “incitement of insurrection.” Trump’s own words, and those of people in the mob who violently broke into the Capitol, establish the links between the former president and the insurrectionists.
Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell gave a speech on the floor of Congress stating,
”President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office as an ordinary citizen. Unless the statute of limitations is run, still liable for everything he did while he was in office. Didn’t get away with anything, yet. Yet. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation and former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one.”
Why didn’t Congress make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice immediately following Trump’s impeachment? It has been more than 9 months since the attack…why isn’t the DOJ already deep into an investigation? As serious as this attack was, the DOJ should have a dedicated department working only on the January 6 investigation.
The failed coup on January 6, to overturn the 2020 election results, is the biggest atrocity against our Democracy in the history of this country. In the waning days of his presidency, Donald Trump perpetuated a lie about the outcome of the 2020 election and incited his followers to act out with hate, causing death, mayhem, destruction, and trauma at the Capitol. The domestic terrorists who interrupted Congress during the certification of the 2020 election results and wreaked havoc while Congress was in session, were invited by the former president over many weeks to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.
Even still, to this day, Trump pushes his lies and incites hate as he continues to use misinformation to grift money from his supporters.
The FBI and media continue to release footage showing the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan Police as they tried heroically to protect those within the confines of the building that day, and we are hearing first-hand about their horrific accounts. People died and more than a hundred Officers were seriously injured with many suffering from PTSD.
The insurrection was clearly an assault on U.S. Democracy, encouraged and abetted by the former President. It was a traumatic inflection of the Trump presidency that encouraged and gave cover to white nationalists throughout his term, to people whose racist, anti-Semitic actions and attitudes have no place in a civil and moral society. Abetted by his supporters, Trump fueled their growth with lies and hate speech throughout his four-year presidency.
All of those who participated in an act of domestic terrorism in the January 6 insurrection must also be held accountable. Our democracy will continue to be at risk until we create a society with equity and justice for every person.
No one, not even the president, is above the law.
Our democracy is governed by the rule of law, and we recognize that adhering to the rule of law promotes justice. We cannot have peace or unity without justice and justice requires us to pursue truth.
In closing, I ask that you join me in signing this petition and ask that you share it with others, demanding justice be served to protect our Democracy.