A coalition of LGBTQ+ organizations is calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office, citing his role in inciting Wednesday’s riots at the U.S. Capitol.
“We call for the immediate and unequivocal removal of Donald Trump as President of the United States via the invoking of the 25th Amendment or by impeachment if necessary,” reads a joint statement published Thursday. “Our nation’s security and the personal security of every American is in grave danger, and we cannot afford to sustain even another day with this destructive and seditious man in the White House.”
The letter was organized by the national media organization GLAAD, whose CEO and president, Sarah Kate Ellis, issued a statement calling Trump “directly responsible for the deaths, violence and terror inflicted at the Capitol.”
“Donald Trump must be removed,” said Ellis in a tweet linking to the petition.
The 17 other signatories include nationwide advocacy groups like Lambda Legal, GLSEN, PFLAG, and the National Center for Transgender Equality, many of which issued their own statements condemning what many claimed was an attempted coup of the federal government. Hundreds of Trump supporters flooded the halls of Congress on Wednesday to halt the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral college victory, leading to the deaths of at least five individuals.
The attack took place around 1 p.m. ET after a Trump rally held at the National Mall, in which the incumbent continued to falsely claim the election was stolen from him. Trump also reportedly refused to deploy the National Guard after members of U.S. Congress were evacuated for their safety, and Vice President Mike Pence was forced to step in to issue the order.
Imani Rupert-Gordon, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a signatory to the letter, said that Trump must not be allowed to continue to serve in office both for the safety of our governmental leaders and the future of the country.
“Given the gravity of the President’s role in inciting yesterday’s violent attack on our nation’s Capitol, we urge immediate action both to remove President Trump pursuant to the 25th Amendment and to initiate impeachment proceedings to ensure that he is held accountable for his seditious actions and can never again hold elected public office,” Gordon said in a statement.
National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey, whose organization also signed onto the letter, said Trump “will remain a threat to democracy, the U.S. Constitution, and human life every day he remains in office.”
