Grace McRae, grace.mcrae@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today marks two years since the violent attack on our nation’s Capitol. On that day, an armed and violent mob launched an insurrection in an attempt to overturn the results of the free and fair 2020 presidential election. Incited by former President Donald Trump, several members of Congress and other co-conspirators, this group delayed the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation’s 246-year history.
In the two years following, the bipartisan House January 6 Select Committee has been working to uncover the truth of the lead up to the insurrection, the attack itself, and what occurred in the aftermath. Last month, the bipartisan Select Committee held its final meeting and announced that they would be referring former President Donald Trump, Trump Attorney John Eastman and other co-conspirators to the Department of Justice for their role in the insurrection.
While these investigations have been underway, the big lie of 2020 has continued to have an impact on our democracy, leading to an influx of anti-voter and anti-democracy bills filed and passed in state legislatures across the country. In the last two years, more than 150 election deniers were reelected or newly elected to serve in Congress, and lawmakers have passed over 40 restrictive voting laws in 21 states grounded in the false narrative of rampant voter fraud in the 2020 election.
In response, Sierra Club Democracy Campaign Representative Tishan Weerasooriya issued the following statement:
“January 6th, 2021 was a dark and harrowing day for our country. The images of the hatred and violence, of the breaking of windows and doors, and of the confederate flag being freely carried among the halls of Congress that day, are seared into the minds of millions of people across this country and the world.
“Much can and must be done to expand and fortify our democracy and prevent us from ever having to live through another day like January 6th, 2021. We have seen elected state and national leaders continue to flame the fires of disinformation and conspiracies behind the big lie of 2020, resulting in dozens of restrictive voting laws and anti-democracy laws passed in states across this nation. Some of the same extremists who supported the attack on the Capitol continue to stand in the way of a functioning democracy, sowing chaos and dysfunction into the most routine tasks.
“The Sierra Club applauds the recent bipartisan efforts to reform the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which passed last month, and we continue to urge efforts to ensure all those who helped incite or provide comfort or aid to the insurrection are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
“Finally, we continue to call on Congress and President Biden to do everything in their power to continue strengthening and expanding voting rights, such as passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and working to ensure our nation’s democracy is healthy for all.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.