Why I voted to convict

Dear Friend,

What happened on January 6, 2021, was not a spontaneous event. This violent and bloody attack on our democracy was cultivated by months of Donald Trump repeating a completely baseless lie of election fraud, over and over and over again. It was cultivated through years of his encouraging violence by White Supremacists and extremist groups like the "Proud Boys." This was an intentional act. Donald Trump never put America first.  What he put first was his hold on power--our democracy and elections be damned.

I am deeply grateful that my colleagues and the Vice President were not murdered by the terrorist mob on January 6th, but it is only thanks to the dedication of Capitol and Metro police that we escaped harm. However, let's never forget that a Capitol Police officer was murdered and that we lost two more police officers in the aftermath.

Many members of Congress are literally scared to death of this man who has taken over the Republican party and turned it into a dangerous and violent cult of personality. I get it. We all felt fear when we saw what that mob was capable of doing to us and to America.  I was fearful that day that my sons might never see their father again. But fear will not defend this beautiful democracy. We have to stand up to this bully and take back our nation governed by laws and elections. The best way to do that was to convict Donald Trump for his crimes and relegate him to the dark corner of history where he belongs.

I voted to do just that today.