We all watched with dismay and alarm the events of January 6th, when domestic insurgents attacked and occupied the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. We are grateful that control was eventually restored, and that Congress was then able to fulfill its constitutional duties to ratify the electoral college vote confirming the victory by President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris. The attacks delayed, but did not derail, the democratic process.

These attacks demonstrated just how broken our democratic process has become, where a sitting president turned out of office by both the popular and electoral vote can irresponsibly claim unsubstantiated fraud and incite such an unthinkable attack on our cherished institutions. Enough is enough. We must protect our democracy.  If Vice-President Pence and the cabinet will not invoke the protections of the 25th Amendment, then Congress must do its constitutional duty to impeach, convict, and remove this threat to public safety and national security.

But the damage from this senseless violence goes well beyond broken windows and defiled offices, including the tragic loss of life of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was killed in the line of duty. We offer our deepest condolences to his family, and our thoughts and prayers for all the other victims of this attack.  We hope that Congress investigates the security failures that led to these tragic outcomes, and that the authorities will find and prosecute those responsible for this outrage.

America can be and should be better than this. Sadly, too often, we have not been, falling well short of Lincoln's “better angels of our nature.” But we are hopeful that the universal condemnation that has been generated by these attacks, coupled with the upcoming inauguration of a new administration, can together provide a turning point from what has been a dangerous path for our American democracy.