July 26, 2022
A Statement from Brenda Victoria Castillo, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
The January 6th hearings have demonstrated how former President, Donald Trump, used lies and hate to commit a seditious conspiracy to defraud the United States of its democracy. From the massacres in El Paso and Buffalo to the January 6th insurrection, we saw first-hand how disinformation and extremism have led to real-world violence. NHMC applauds the January 6th House Select Committee for their investigative work to preserve the truth of what occurred to protect our democracy. Given the details revealed throughout the hearings, we urge the Department of Justice to take immediate further action and investigate Donald Trump for his involvement in the insurrection.
Trump’s actions leading up to and on January 6th were a dereliction of duty, violation of his oath, and likely criminal. Even before the violent attack at the capitol, Donald Trump intentionally peddled false claims of voter fraud and elevated conspiracy theories that suggested local election workers and undocumented immigrants helped steal the election. Trump’s intent to incite violence by right-wing extremist groups was evident following his December 19th tweet, when he instructed insurrectionists to descend upon Washington, D.C. on January 6th to stop the peaceful and legal transfer of power. Despite numerous warnings, Trump continued to use falsehoods as his weapon to ignite violence even after being warned of armed and dangerous individuals in the crowds because they were not there to hurt him.
All the witnesses’ powerful and emotional testimonies revealed the impact of Trump’s lies on everyday Americans that simply did their duty to preserve democracy. Donald Trump and his allies’ continuous use of hate and fraud remain a clear and present danger to the survival of American democracy. The majority of Americans believe that the former president should be criminally charged. NHMC urges the Department of Justice to investigate Donald Trump’s involvement in the January 6th insurrection to uphold the rule of law and protect the most basic tenets of our nation.
Yours in the Movement,
Brenda Victoria Castillo
President & CEO
National Hispanic Media Coalition
