The case for the prosecution of Donald J. Trump is made clear by one of the more precipitous failures of the first Republican-led government.

In March of 1865, in his second inaugural address, President Abraham Lincoln famously wrote, “With malice toward none, with charity for all…”. And with those words, Lincoln gave a “pass” to those engaged in the Southern insurrection and excused the only crime defined by the United States Constitution: treason.

The “pass” given to traitors such as Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Nathaniel Bedford Forrest soon gave rise to one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated upon the American public, the myth of the Lost Cause. The Lost Cause falsehood conceals the actions of those that took up arms against the United States from their true nature just as surely as the actions of the current Republican cabal work to conceal the illegal actions of Donald J. Trump on January 6, 2021.

On that day, the man occupying the Oval Office encouraged an armed and dangerous crowd to: “…oppose by force the authority thereof…” “ …or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law…” “…or by force to seize, take or possess any property of the United States…” in violation of 18 USC § 2384.

The actions of Mr. Trump constitute seditious conspiracy and must be punished as such. To do any less is to risk lending credibility to another Lost Cause narrative with results that will be equally calamitous.

Chris Searcy

Danville