Press Releases

WORCESTER, MASS.—Today, Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee, released the following statement in advance of the three-year anniversary of the violent insurrection led by Donald Trump and his supporters who attempted to illegally stop the certification of the 2020 election. McGovern was presiding over the House of Representatives while the Capitol was breached. He was one of the last Members of Congress to evacuate the House Floor as rioters attempted to enter the chamber.

“January 6^th, 2021 was a day of violence and rage, but it was not just an attack on the United States Capitol Building. It was a coordinated attack on democracy, led by Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans in Congress who wanted to certify that the former president had won—even though he had lost.

“Since that day, over 1,000 people have been arrested in all 50 states on charges that include viciously beating police officers, causing millions of dollars in damage, and engaging in a seditious conspiracy to overthrow the government.

“The history of the world is filled with democracies that have come and gone. Let’s stop pretending it can’t happen here. Donald Trump has made crystal clear that he idolizes authoritarians like Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping. He said he wants to be a dictator ‘on day one.’ He now calls his political rivals ‘vermin’—echoing the language of Mussolini and Hitler. He openly advocates for white supremacy, claiming that immigrants ‘poison the blood’ of our country. It all has one logical endpoint: violence. Trump has told us who he is and what he is going to do. We should listen before it’s too late.”