Donald Trump knew he lost the 2020 election, yet for months he continued to attempt to cajole and coerce state legislators and election officials into violating their oaths of office and overturn the 2020 election. Before he turned violent insurrectionists loose on the United States Capitol on January 6^th, he turned mobs loose on the homes of local elections officials in an effort to intimidate those officials into breaking the law and falsifying election results to hand him an election he lost at the ballot box.

The evidence presented today by the January 6 Committee exposed the withering pressure campaign then-president Trump and his henchmen waged to intimidate election officials and their families. These people who do the patriotic work of running our elections faced threats of criminal prosecution and feared for their lives – receiving threats by phone, by email, and even from mobs gathered outside their homes and offices.

Traumatized by their gross mistreatment by the former President and his henchmen, many of these election officials have resigned their posts. These public servants did nothing to deserve this abuse, but they will bear the scars from it for the rest of their lives.

It is these officials who make it possible for every one of us to have a voice in our democracy. These Americans deserve our thanks and praise and they deserve the protection of the nation they serve.