Three years ago, a violent mob, incited by then-President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress, attacked the U.S. Capitol to try and stop the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history.

Now, three years and four sets of indictments later, Trump is running for president again, in a desperate attempt to avoid accountability. 

If he is re-elected, his plans for a second term include weaponizing the U.S. Department of Justice to persecute and retaliate against his political opponents; giving license to political violence by pardoning his own crimes and the crimes of his supporters, including those committed on Jan. 6, and even using the military against Americans exercising their First Amendment rights. 

And to make sure his plan succeeds, he’ll purge the federal government of and punish anyone who doesn’t agree with him, until there’s no one left to say no.

This is not the America I know. Too much is at stake for voters to allow Trump to take back power. Trump and those who enabled him must answer for their attempts to overturn the 2020 election and for the violence that followed — in the court of law and at the ballot box.

Ruth Wyant

Portsmouth