Faith leaders react to mob at Capitol with prayers, calls for end to violence
From prayers to calls for Trump to halt rioters, some statements react to a sign of a divided nation with cries for peace. Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. As Congress prepared to affirm President-elect Joe Biden s victory, thousands of people gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
January 6, 2021
(RNS) As a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday (Jan. 6), American religious leaders reacted quickly to a chaotic and unprecedented scene.
Faith in the Public Square
Religious reaction to Capitol mob By Walter Ayres on January 7, 2021 at 2:33 PM
Numerous faith leaders have spoken out against yesterday’s attack on the nation’s Capitol. Here is a sample.
Episcopal News Service reports that Presiding Bishop Michael Curry “strongly denounced the riotous assault on the United States Capitol.”
We believe the actions of armed protesters represent a coup attempt,” Curry said on Facebook Live yesterday. “Today’s protesters pushed through police barricades and forced their way into congressional chambers and … [are] threatening the safety of lawmakers, their staff and others who work in the Capitol complex. This threatens the integrity of our democracy, the national security of our nation, the continuity of government, and the lives and safety of our legislators, their staffs, law enforcement and all who work in the Capitol.”
Does anyone think the Chamber of Commerce is going to back these people?
(JTA) AIPAC hardly ever pronounces on any issue that does not relate to Israel. It’s also loath to criticize a sitting president.
But the preeminent pro-Israel lobby did both on Wednesday after rioters supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the count of electoral votes that would formalize Joe Biden’s win.
“We share the anger of our fellow Americans over the attack at the Capitol and condemn the assault on our democratic values and process,” AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said in a statement posted to Twitter Wednesday evening. “This violence, and President Trump’s incitement of it, is outrageous and must end.”
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Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol s Rotunda on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Saul Loeb/AFP)
JTA AIPAC hardly ever pronounces on any issue that does not relate to Israel. It’s also loath to criticize a sitting president.
But the preeminent pro-Israel lobby did both on Wednesday after rioters supporting US President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol to stop the count of electoral votes that would formalize Joe Biden’s win.
“We share the anger of our fellow Americans over the attack at the Capitol and condemn the assault on our democratic values and process,” AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said in a statement posted to Twitter Wednesday evening. “This violence, and President Trump’s incitement of it, is outrageous and must end.”