Today, the United States House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection. The charge is pursuant to the president’s role in encouraging a coup attempt by white supremacist groups and Trump supporters at the United States Capitol leading up to and during the certification of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021. President Trump was previously impeached by the House of Representatives on Dec. 18, 2019, for obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.
Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), issued the following statement regarding today’s impeachment vote:
“Today, the House of Representatives rightfully voted to impeach President Trump for a second time. The charge brought against Mr. Trump follows his deplorable encouragement of a violent coup attempt orchestrated by white supremacist groups to seek to overturn the results of a free and fair election. We are encouraged that the House has taken this critical step in holding Mr. Trump accountable for inciting this atrocity that debased our country.
“We call on the Senate to immediately consider the article of impeachment against the president, and vote to convict and remove him from office immediately. Mr. Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he represents a grave threat to the integrity of our democracy and to the nation as a whole. Every moment that he continues to remain in office puts this country and our democracy at increased danger. The Senate must uphold its obligation to protect and defend our democratic values, and strip Mr. Trump of the presidency before he causes any further damage to our institutions, our lives, and our welfare.
“The violence perpetuated on Jan. 6, 2021 is an unconscionable stain on this country. However, as civil rights leaders and communities victimized by his policies and rhetoric have long recognized, this moment was not an aberration. It was the direct result of Mr. Trump’s years of flagrantly disregarding the rule of law, perpetuating dangerous, racist rhetoric, and defying standards of normalcy and decency, all while enabled by prominent figures in government, the media, the religious community, the business world, the legal community, and more.
“While imperative for his removal, Mr. Trump’s impeachment does not change the fact that thousands of organizations and individuals were directly involved or readily complicit in this moment of reckoning for our democracy — including members of law enforcement who were engaged in the insurrection. We must actively confront this grave reality — and commit to widespread, systemic accountability and reforms to ensure that our country does not continue on this perilous trajectory that undermines the values on which it was established.”
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
