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Editorial: Democracy prevails

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American democracy and the rule of law withstood their most serious assault since the Civil War. That’s our main reaction watching the videos offered by the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 insurrection depicting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer begging for troops as rioters stormed the Capitol. The election certification went on, despite the pillaging of the chambers. Joe Biden was named president. Donald Trump lost.

Trump summoned his loyalists to Washington for a rally, where he urged them to march to the Capitol. The Secret Service knew about it a week ahead, and that the insurgents would be armed. Trump knew it. Roger Stone relished the revolution. When the violence ensued, with Capitol and DC Metro police down and a gallows erected for Vice President Mike Pence, Trump refused to call off the dogs. Still, democracy prevailed thanks to the courage of Pelosi, Schumer, Pence and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to persevere with the certification of Biden.

Many of the rioters were arrested and are being sentenced to prison, still believing from the steady stream of lies that somehow they were robbed.

Trump is under investigation by state and federal authorities for a number of offenses — trying to pressure Georgia officials to rig election results, directing the Jan. 6 insurrection, stealing classified documents from the White House, and committing tax fraud. A federal appeals court and the US Supreme Court have refused to stand in the way of  the National Archives retrieving sensitive documents from Trump (including nuclear secrets). It reassures us that nobody is above the law, and that justice will be served.

The House Jan. 6 Committee last week voted to subpoena Trump to testify about his role in fomenting the insurrection. The committee might not last long enough to see that day as the November midterms fast approach. Although preserving democracy has become a leading issue in polling across the country, still over half of Republicans believe that the election was stolen from Trump. Many think that the insurrection was not that big a deal, which continues to astonish, given the video and personal testimony of police under attack. Such is the power of well-financed propaganda. But in America, a free press in the form of The New York Times and Washington Post are hewing to the facts and reporting on the deep-seated, persistent attempts to overthrow our democracy. The truth will prevail.

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