The January 6 insurrection requires a vigorous response on many fronts to ensure accountability for those who incited the insurrection, those who participated in it, and those who enabled it.
People For the American Way has launched a multi-pronged campaign to hold ALL who were involved accountable, directly or indirectly, in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Add your name to support People For's campaign to hold them accountable.
People For’s Response to the January 6th Insurrection
The January 6 insurrection requires a vigorous response on many fronts to ensure accountability for those who incited the insurrection, those who participated in it, and those who enabled it.
Donald Trump Must Be Removed From Office
- Our nation is at risk every moment that the power of the presidency remains in the hands of someone who has engaged in a violent insurrection.
- Because Vice President Pence has refused to do his constitutional duties under the 25th Amendment, Trump must be impeached by the House, removed by the Senate, and disqualified from holding federal public office again.
- Should the Senate fail to convict and disqualify Trump, Congress should exercise its authority under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to formally declare that he has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States and therefore make him constitutionally prohibited from holding federal office.
Criminal Liability for Violent Insurrection, Incitement, and Seditious Conspiracy
- History makes clear that an absence of prosecution and meaningful sentencing when democracy is under violent attack serves only to encourage more violence and accelerate the destabilization of democracy.
- Authorities should investigate and prosecute those who engaged in violent insurrection, incited violence, or engaged in a seditious conspiracy:
- President Trump.
- Public figures who committed incitement of violence on January 6 and engaged in a conspiracy to violate the law. Possibilities include Rudolph Giuliani, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, presidential aide Peter Navarro, and Rep. Mo Brooks.
- The vast network of Far Right extremists who have been implicated in conducting or conspiring to bring about the rebellion.
- Those individuals who unlawfully breached the Capitol as part of the insurrection and anyone on Capitol Hill, including Capitol Police or members of Congress, who actually aided or abetted their misconduct.
Other Accountability for Members of Congress
- All Senators and Representatives who voted to deny certification of the election results should do the honorable thing: resign. A healthy democracy cannot have its national legislature filled with Fifth Columnists who have sought to undo a free and fair presidential election.
- Congressional ringleaders in overturning the election should be censured by their respective chambers: Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Josh Hawley, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise.
- Congressional ringleaders who are lawyers including Cruz and Hawley should be suspended from the Supreme Court Bar.
- Legitimate businesses should follow the lead of companies like Simon & Schuster, which has cancelled its planned publication of a book by sedition leader Josh Hawley.
Investigation and Action on Law Enforcement’s Failed and Racist Response
- Congress must fully investigate all aspects of how law enforcement responded to the insurrection, including the contrast with violent responses to peaceful marches for racial justice by predominantly Black protesters, and take appropriate action to punish and reform police as appropriate.
Disbarment
- Democracies cannot survive without the rule of law, and those who practice law have a special responsibility to protect it. Bar associations should initiate proceedings to determine whether individuals who spoke at the January 6 sedition rally or who engaged or conspired in the subsequent violent attack on the U.S. Congress have violated their ethical obligations and should face disbarment or other penalties relating to their membership in the state bar.
Push Back Against Right-Wing Whitewashing
- We condemn Trump supporters who have spent years stoking rage against their political opponents who now claim we should “lower the temperature” and move on.
- We will continue to aggressively push back against the Far Right’s disinformation campaign to lay blame for their insurrection on others.
- We will not shy from accurately characterizing the white nationalism that drives Trump’s base, including its zeal to nullify, prevent, or delegitimize the votes of Black Americans in particular.
The nation’s collective horror at the rebellion and violence of January 6 presents an opportunity to confront the disease that plagues our democracy and set a new course toward a country that lives out its professed ideals of justice and equality.
People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch will continue to be a resource for media, elected officials, and members of the public on the activities and rhetoric of right-wing activists and organizations.
