Springfield, Illinois – Today marks the fifth anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, in which thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results. In total, more than 140 police officers were injured as they defended the Capitol, Members of Congress, and Congressional staff. In response, Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez released the following statement:
“Five years ago, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after Donald Trump lied about the 2020 election results. Despite their attempts to overturn the democratic will of the American people, the January 6th insurrection failed because of the remarkable heroism and bravery of Capitol Police and law enforcement officials, and the public servants who certified the election despite Trump’s attempts to stop it. While Republicans continue to lie about the 2020 election and what happened on January 6th, and many Illinois Republicans refuse to condemn Trump for pardoning nearly 1,600 insurrectionists, Illinois Democrats will continue to stand up for truth, justice, and our sacred right to vote. Our democracy is worth fighting for.”
Since then, Donald Trump has refused to denounce political violence and has shared conspiracy theories about a Democratic lawmaker’s assassination. Trump refers to January 6th as a “day of love” and insurrectionists as “great people.” On his first day in office, Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 rioters, despite the fact that dozens of the individuals Trump pardoned committed horrific new crimes between the attack and Trump’s second inauguration.
While Donald Trump and his Republican allies continue to lie about the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, Democrats will continue fighting tooth and nail to protect our democracy.
