Rep. Joe Morelle, Sergeant Gonell, Officer Fanone, and Pro-Democracy Coalition Leaders Called on Congress to Commit to a Peaceful Certification of the 2024 Presidential Election
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On January 6, 2021, 147 Republicans voted to overturn the 2020 election. This week, with 147 days until January 6, 2025, Rep. Joe Morelle, Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, Officer Michael Fanone, and Declaration for American Democracy Co-Director Christine Wood spoke during a press call about the need for all members of Congress to commit to certifying the 2024 election results. Courage for America council members also sent a letter to those who voted to overturn the 2020 election, as well as freshman congresspeople, calling on them to reject Project 2025 and defend our democracy from the threat of MAGA extremism.
Remarks from the press call:
“I fear that my Republican colleagues have normalized not only the former president’s constant election lies, misinformation, and disinformation, but also the fatal insurrection that took place on January 6th as a result of their Big Lie. No one seems to remember how after the attack on the Capitol, many Republican leaders and members expressed their horror and shock on the House floor about what just unfolded. Those Members of Congress vowed to ensure that would never happen again because they knew the truth. What happened on January 6, 2021, can never happen again,” said Congressman Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the Committee on House Administration.
“The violence and brutality my fellow officers and I endured was indescribable and it will happen again if MAGA extremists continue pushing election denialism,” said Sergeant Aquilino Gonell. “We cannot allow them to attack our democracy again – too much is at stake. Election denialism and the authoritarian Project 2025 agenda have no place in this country. It’s Congress’s responsibility to protect our democracy – it’s what we, the people, put them in office to do.”
“MAGA Republicans have stopped at nothing to undermine the legitimacy of our democratic institutions and electoral systems,” said Officer Michael Fanone. “They’ve peddled baseless conspiracy theories, passed legislation to restrict voting rights, and obstructed efforts to bring January 6th insurrectionists to justice. Just this week, former president Trump doubled down on his commitment to pardon the convicted insurrectionists who put my life and our democracy at risk on January 6th.”
“We are deeply concerned about the continuation of the Big Lie and the emergence of Project 2025, a new and dangerous threat to our democracy,” said Christine Wood, Co-Director of Declaration for American Democracy. “What happened on January 6th, 2021 was a violent and deadly attack against all Americans, against our country, our democracy, and our freedom as voters to choose the leaders who represent us.”
The letters sent by Courage For America can be found here.
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