In the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Hillsborough’s mayor and commissioners came together to condemn President Donald Trump and his Congressional enablers in a statement Monday morning.
They also called for Trump’s resignation.
“We demand the president be held accountable and immediately resign,” they wrote. “If not, we demand that Congress impeach and remove the president and prohibit him from ever holding public office again.”
The impeachment process could begin as early as today. Numerous Triangle-area organizations have condemned the attack, but the Hillsborough leaders’ statement is among the strongest and most explicit in its demands, especially on the president’s removal from office.
The Hillsborough Board of Commissioners criticized what they described as “the attempt to delay, discredit or prevent the certification of a free and fair election.”
“White supremacists, anti-Semites, and conspiracy theory devotees were part of the seditious mob that went to the Capitol at the incitement of President Trump,” they wrote. “This was a coordinated attack on democracy and constitutional order, and we are thankful no lawmakers were injured or killed.”
The statement acknowledges that the Capitol assault left five people dead and that, in addition to the officer killed, “over 50 additional law enforcement officers were injured in the attack, including an officer dragged down a set of stairs and beaten unconscious.” It also lambasts attacks on the press and the racist abuse that Black officers faced from the mob.
The commissioners laid blame for the siege squarely at the feet of Trump and his most ardent supporters in the U.S. House and Senate.
“We specifically condemn in the strongest possible terms the president of the United States for his words and actions that encouraged the violent riot by this mob of his supporters,” they wrote. “We also condemn those members of the House and Senate who amplified the same falsehoods promoted by the president, which provided motivation, aid, and comfort to this assault on our democratic process.”
Several of North Carolina’s Republican representatives in Congress fall into that category. Representatives Dan Bishop, Ted Budd, Madison Cawthorn, Virginia Foxx, Richard Hudson, Greg Murphy, and David Rouzer all objected to Joe Biden’s legitimate victory in Pennsylvania. Except for Foxx and Murphy, the same group opposed Biden’s legitimate win in Arizona, too.
Representative Patrick McHenry did not engage in either plot to baselessly throw out Biden’s Electoral College votes. McHenry and our state’s two Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr were the only three Republicans who represent North Carolina in the House or Senate who did not object to certifying the results.
The statement also says that “the American people deserve an explanation” for the disparate treatment armed insurrectionists received in comparison to the federal law enforcement attacks on Black Lives Matter protesters in Washington, D.C.’s Lafayette Square last summer.
“We join the growing chorus of local, state, and federal lawmakers demanding a full accounting of what transpired on Jan. 6 and the days leading up to it,” they wrote. “Any suggestion of moving forward and putting this behind us without a complete explanation of what happened or without holding those responsible accountable is unacceptable and puts our country at greater risk.”
The statement, which is signed by Mayor Jenn Weaver, Mayor Pro Tem Mark Bell, and the body’s four other commissioners, framed the issue of accountability as a fight to preserve democracy in the United States.
“We are in a struggle between those who believe in democracy and those who do not,” they said, “and we must uphold the rule of law, block efforts at voter suppression, and respect the freedom of the press.”
Follow Interim News Editor Eric Ginsburg on Twitter or send an email to eginsburg@indyweek.com.
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