Strong statement from Sen. Tim Kaine, ahead of the January 6th violent, pro-Trump insurrection/coup attempt anniversary:
KAINE STATEMENT AHEAD OF JANUARY 6 ANNIVERSARY
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement ahead of the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection:
“One year ago, on January 6, 2021, a violent mob attempted to overturn the presidential election results and rob the American people of their duly elected leaders. Urged on by President Trump, right-wing insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol aiming to commit the greatest voter disenfranchisement effort in recent American history. The insurrection led to the tragic loss of multiple heroic law enforcement officers from Virginia, and my heart is with their loved ones on this anniversary.
“The attack on the Capitol was an attack on our democracy and on the Constitution that I have sworn to defend ‘against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’ As I have said before, unchallenged evil spreads like a virus. Trump’s ‘big lie’ — that because he lost, there must have been fraud — animated the attack on January 6 and has been spreading through our democracy and corroding it since then. Certain states with Republican governors and legislatures have used that same lie to restrict voting access, disempower nonpartisan election officials, and even threaten jail time for Americans who help their neighbors vote. The state officials taking these steps may not have been storming the Capitol on January 6, but they are using the same ‘big lie’ to justify disenfranchising our fellow Americans. The best way to overcome that and protect our democracy is by passing comprehensive voting rights legislation like my Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
“January 6 made clear that we must take action to ensure that citizens of this country have the freedom to vote without obstacles or intimidation. That is what the Freedom to Vote Act does. The Senate must rise to the occasion and pass it.”
Kaine, a former civil rights attorney, has long fought to protect voting rights and expand access to the ballot box.
In September 2021, Kaine introduced the Freedom to Vote Act to improve access to the ballot for Americans, advance commonsense election integrity reforms, and protect our democracy from attacks. The Freedom to Vote Act contains provisions expanding voting by mail, early voting, and taking other steps to make voting easier and safer.
Kaine is also an original cosponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, introduced in October 2021. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore safeguards against potential restrictive changes to voting rules after the Supreme Court gutted those protections in its Shelby County decision in 2013.
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