RELEASE: January 6 Attack on the Capitol was an Attack on Democracy, and the Threats Remain
WASHINGTON, DC – As the nation prepares to mark the third anniversary of the January 6, 2021 violent attack on the United States Capitol, Constitutional Accountability Center Vice President Praveen Fernandes issued the following reaction:
Three years ago, an unprecedented attack on the United States Capitol exacted a heartbreaking toll in terms of lives lost and other lives irretrievably altered. But as we rightly pause to remember the human cost, we must also remember the cost to our democracy. January 6 represented an attempt to thwart the will of American voters, and threats to our democracy dangerously remain.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the bipartisan House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, we know a tremendous amount about this assault on our democracy. The Select Committee’s final report contained findings, conclusions, and recommendations informed by over 140,000 documents and over 1000 interviews and depositions. This was the work not only of Select Committee members, but also of countless nonpartisan staff, including national security experts and career investigators crucial to unearthing the truth.
As a nation, we cannot afford to forget what we learned from the Select Committee’s work. And as a nation, we cannot rest as we seek accountability for what occurred on January 6.
Significantly, accountability can come in many forms. It can come in the courts, whether in civil actions or criminal proceedings against Donald Trump and his co-conspirators. It can come through exclusion from state ballots of individuals like Donald Trump who are constitutionally barred from holding office due to Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. In whatever forms it takes, accountability now is crucial if we are to uphold the fundamental principle that no one is above the law and deter future efforts to undermine our democracy.
##
Resources:
Enforcing the Insurrection Clause Against Trump Strengthens Our Democracy https://www.newsweek.com/enforcing-insurrection-clause-against-trump-strengthens-our-democracy-opinion-1852255
Case page in Blassingame v. Trump: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/blassingame-v-trump-2/
Case page in Anderson v. Griswold: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/anderson-v-griswold/
Case page in Trump v. Thompson: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/trump-v-thompson-january-6-select-committee-litigation/
##
Constitutional Accountability Center is a nonpartisan think tank and public interest law firm dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text, history, and values. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org and follow us on X at https://twitter.com/MyConstitution.
##