U.S. SENATOR CORY A. BOOKER’S RESPONSE TO CHAOS AT THE CAPITOL
On Jan. 6, U.S. Senator Cory A. Booker tweeted the following:
“On August 24, 1814, the British stormed our Capitol and set fire to it. Now the Capitol has again been breached and sieged. Donald Trump incited this. He is responsible for this. And he is silent as this tragic moment continues.
“And Donald Trump is being aided and abetted by a group of Republican House and Senate members. This is on them, as well. We must rise from this nadir of shame. We must repair our democracy. We must heal our nation.
“Neither the President, nor the members of Congress, nor the violent mobs who want to overturn the results of this election will succeed. They will fail. Our democracy will not. We Shall Overcome.
“Donald Trump has shown he is a direct threat to the safety and security of Americans and the integrity of our democracy. The Vice President & Cabinet should immediately invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the President from office.
“Trump incited a violent insurrection against our own government. Congress should be prepared to impeach & remove the President if the Vice President and Cabinet fail to adhere to their constitutional duty. We must protect our national security.”
NEW JERSEY STATE SENATOR RONALD L. RICE’S STATEMENT ON CHAOS AT THE CAPITOL
Senator Ronald L. Rice released the following statement regarding the irreverent disruption that erupted at our nation’s Capitol Jan. 6:
“Although I’ve lived through many a despicable period and endured the past twelve months as some of the most difficult of my life, today’s events have made this Wednesday, January 6, 2021, my most heartbreaking day as an American.
“Today, people of good will in New Jersey and every state have been brought to their knees in anguish over the incomprehensible torrent of disrespect, ignorance, arrogance and hostility that has trashed not only our most sacred process of peaceful transfer of power but the very building that serves as its temple.
“I am appalled and demoralized. And yet somehow, I am not surprised.
“This deplorable revolt rooted in fiction, delusion and cosplay fantasy, has almost nothing at all to do with political party affiliation, red/blue, liberal/conservative or even election results. It has to do with our complete breakdown in national communication, our inability to listen to each other anymore and our cowardice. Fewer and fewer of us have the clarity and commitment to stand up for honesty, compassion and justice. Many elected officials and their constituents are no longer capable of behaving with the decency most of us were taught in kindergarten chairs or on our grandmother’s laps.
“When we keep silent and swim with a river of lies, or fail to go against the current for fear of sticking out, we kill America. When we choose to fawn over flawed leaders and rubber-stamp harmful legislation because it’s the path of least resistance, we kill America. This gutless compliance and acquiescence eventually culminates in the inevitably debauchery and societal convulsion we witnessed today.
“On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, America’s mindless, blind reactivity resulted in the death of a woman shot in the chest inside our nation’s Capitol building.
“I believe her cause of death was more than the bullet fired into her chest. She died from the crushing failure of communication among countrymen and women. She died from the delinquency of timid, fearful legislators standing mute to lies and liars. She died from the despair promulgated by people who seek to divide us and strip us of dignity and hope.
“She was also killed by an inexplicable failure of a so-called “law and order” president who mobilized every manner of military force to squelch peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters – and yet today somehow managed to tie the hands of security forces necessary to repel the expected assault of armed extremists that he all but begged to come to Washington to get ‘wild.’
“For many reasons, this has been one of America’s darkest days. But comparing photos of the capitol’s robust security force unleashed at last June’s BLM demonstration with the ineffective presence that abetted today’s chaos reveals a sad and stubborn reality found in every state, including ours: Black lives often seem to matter only when you can somehow take advantage of them.
“We must do better, beginning right now. America needs to reward truthfulness, honor compassion, elevate justice and celebrate diversity.”
STATEMENT BY ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE JOSEPH N. DIVINCENZO, JR.:
Make no mistake, today is one of the darkest days in our nation’s history. But I believe we are better than the discord created in Washington. Our democratic principles have formed the bedrock of our country and they will not be broken by the tantrums of President Trump. I look forward to President-Elect Biden’s inauguration and a return to decency, honesty and truthfulness from our national leaders.
NEWARK MAYOR RAS J. BARAKA’S STATEMENT ON VIOLENCE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
“What we witnessed yesterday was hate and fear in purest form. It was truly a sad day as our fight for democracy, freedom, and Constitution came under siege.
“Our nation fervently watched attacks on our Members of Congress. They were barricaded in the U.S. Capitol and held hostage only for the mere reason that democracy was upheld.
“Make no mistake: President-Elect Biden won the election not by a small margin but by 9 million votes. The people have spoken. He won the Electoral College by a tally of 306 to 232. Those votes have been certified by the states, upheld by all the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, and were confirmed last night by Congress. However, what we have known for some time and what last night has certainly proven is that the Electoral College is our biggest obstacle to a true democracy. There has never been anything right with it. I stand for the abolishment of this outdated and undemocratic practice and further call upon every elected official that believes in the future freedoms of our civilization to continue to condemn yesterday’s atrocities.
“Even if we do not like the outcomes of the election, terroristic attacks of white supremacy on our nation’s shores resulted in the shooting of a woman and anarchy. We must end the hatred dividing our country and arrest the criminals responsible before our democracy is further compromised.”
