Fueled by a refusal to accept the results of a free and fair presidential election, thousands of supporters of President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol yesterday. Four people died, and many more were seriously injured. This violence was enabled and encouraged by the President and his supporters, including several Texas leaders, who collectively subscribe to conspiracy theories alleging voter fraud that have been repeatedly deemed baseless by experts, election officials, courts and elected leaders of both parties.
In response, Every Texan Legislative & Policy Director Luis Figueroa issued the following statement:
“We must collectively denounce this heinous attack on democracy. In the middle of a pandemic, we cannot afford to allow radicals, rooted in white supremacy and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, to thwart our nation’s democratic process.
“At Every Texan, we are dedicated to using facts and data to advocate for a state where people of all backgrounds can fulfill their potential and contribute to our community. In order to do so, we must hold responsible parties accountable for lying, fear mongering, encouraging insurrection and threatening the existence of our democracy. We condemn the actions of the 17 Texans in Congress who declined to bring our nation together in the aftermath of the assault on our nation’s Capitol and certify president-elect Biden’s win.
“Organizations and members of marginalized groups who have spent their entire lives fighting for equity and racial justice have been verbally and physically attacked for attempting to protest peacefully; this was hypocrisy. We have a moral imperative to call out this inequity and distinguish peaceful protests for human rights, racial justice and equity from a mob assault rooted in conspiracies, white supremacy and antisemitism.
“Despite these difficult times, we must look for ways to rebuild and come together after such a devastating blow to our nation. It’s time to get back to policies that focus on people, backed by data and facts, to end the divisiveness caused by Trump and his enablers. As we approach the start of the Biden/Harris administration and the start of a new legislative session in Texas, we will do our best to advocate for inclusivity, fairness and the basic principles of democracy.”
We are monitoring the situation in Washington and will continue to provide updates on how it will affect Texans.