LGBT groups have condemned Wednesday's
siege of the Capitol by Trump supporters.
President Donald Trump for weeks has
been calling on supporters to descend on the city on January 6, the
day a joint session of Congress was scheduled to certify
President-elect Joe Biden's November win. Trump appeared at a “Save
America Rally” near the Capitol and repeated his claims that the
election had been rigged. While Trump has failed to convince state
and federal judges – including the Supreme Court – of voter
fraud, dozens of Republicans in the House and Senate had announced
that they were prepared to object to election results in several
battleground states where Trump lost.
Trump told the crowd: “We are going
to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave
senators, congressmen and women, and we are probably not going to be
cheering so much for some of them. Because you will never take back
our country with weakness.”
Trump returned to the White House while
the protesters began a march to the Capitol. They broke through
police barricades and swarmed the building. Four people died in the
ensuing chaos.
After several hours, police, with the
help of other agencies, secured the area and lawmakers concluded the
business of certifying the November election.
Almost immediately, Democrats,
including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and incoming Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer, began calling for Trump's removal, either by
enacting the 25th Amendment or impeachment. Some
Republicans who had stood by Trump started distancing themselves from
the president. And on Thursday, several government officials
announced they were leaving the administration, with Secretary of
Transportation Elaine Chao being the first cabinet member to resign.
LGBT rights groups joined the chorus
against Trump.
“For the good of our democracy,
Donald Trump must be removed from office immediately,” the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate,
tweeted.
“By inciting violence and stoking
fears of election integrity, Donald Trump has again shown us he is
unfit to be president,” the group added.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights
(NCLR) called Trump's actions “traitorous.”
“President Trump's actions yesterday
to incite violence and encourage a coup were traitorous, and
anti-American,” NCLR Executive Director Imani Rupert-Gordon said in
a statement. “He is unfit to lead and his abuse of the office of
President of the United States has put everyone in this country at
risk. We urge Vice-President Pence, the Cabinet, and members of
Congress to exercise their Constitutional responsibilities to take
immediate action to remove President Trump from office and to hold
him accountable for his criminal and treasonous conduct.”
Lambda Legal also cited the 25th
Amendment in calling for Trump's removal.
“Today’s unprecedented events are a
betrayal of that fundamental American commitment, and any pretense to
‘patriotism’ on the part of those who committed today’s acts of
desecration of the temple of democracy that is our Capitol building
are blasphemous,” said Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings. “Our
democratic processes must be defended, and we call upon our leaders
to utilize any and all processes available to them, including the
25th Amendment, to ensure an orderly transition of power in
accordance with the will of the American people as expressed freely
at the ballot box in November.”
LGBT law group GLAD said in a statement
that it was “calling for the removal of the President through the
procedures set forth in the 25th Amendment to the United
States Constitution or through impeachment.”
“After months of conspiracy theories,
and relentless efforts to undermine legitimate election results,
President Trump exhorted this mob to insurrection,” GLAD Executive
Director Janson Wu said in a statement. “He resisted marshaling the
forces to quell this assault and has expressed his appreciation for
its perpetrators.”
“Because President Trump has
demonstrated that he is unable to discharge his essential and
fundamental duty, he must be relieved of his powers,” Wu added.
On Thursday, Trump shifted his
messaging, acknowledging Biden's win and promising a “smooth”
transition of power.
“This moment calls for healing and
reconciliation,” Trump said.