Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the violent insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 40 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the violent insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 17, 2023 Mr. ESPAILLAT submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ethics, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regard- ing the violent insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Whereas, on the morning of January 6, 2021, President Don- ald J. Trump attended a rally on the National Mall where he encouraged a crowd of individuals to disrupt the proceedings of Congress to certify the votes of the elec- toral college for President and Vice President of the United States, stating that he himself would be in at- tendance; Whereas certain Members of Congress issued statements di- rectly calling on individuals to resort to violence to inter- vene in the certification of the votes of the electoral col- VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Jan 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR40.IH HR40 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 40 IH lege in an attempt to overturn the results of a valid, free, and fair election; Whereas in the months leading up to and following the 2020 Presidential election, President Donald J. Trump rigor- ously sowed discord, impaired the operations of the United States Postal Service, promoted conspiracy theo- ries, and outright lied to the American public in order to reduce confidence in the integrity of the election and dis- enfranchise voters; Whereas in the days and weeks following media outlets’ de- termination that Joseph R. Biden, Jr., had secured the necessary number of electoral votes to be declared Presi- dent-elect, President Trump, his legal representatives, and dozens of Republican Members of Congress and Sen- ators deliberately attempted to reverse the results of the election in various States and to disenfranchise millions of voters by bringing forth frivolous lawsuits at several levels of the United States judicial system; Whereas due to an utter lack of evidence and legal standing, these lawsuits were swiftly dismissed by dozens of judges, including those nominated by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the Senate; Whereas following his decisive defeat in both the November Presidential election and legal efforts that followed, President Donald J. Trump, alongside more than 100 Republican Members of the House of Representatives and a dozen Republican Senators, announced their intent to object to the certification of the votes of certain States’ electors perpetuating baseless claims about the integrity of the election, and encouraged their supporters to de- scend on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to ‘‘stop the steal’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Jan 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR40.IH HR40 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 40 IH Whereas, on the afternoon of January 6, 2021, a mob of thousands of domestic terrorists and seditionists engaged in a sustained effort to bypass United States Capitol Po- lice and officers under direction of the Sergeants at Arms of the House and Senate in order to delay and disrupt Congress’ constitutional and statutory duty of certifying the 2020 Presidential election results; Whereas the responding officers from the Sergeants at Arms of the House and Senate, United States Capitol Police, National Guard, and Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia were physically assaulted and threatened with deadly weapons and firearms; Whereas the security preparations by these and other law en- forcement agencies were inexplicably and dangerously in- adequate to meet the clear and present threat posed to Members of Congress and individuals in the line of suc- cession to the Presidency; and Whereas, as a result of this insurrection, two individuals were fatally wounded in the United States Capitol and many others were severely injured: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that— 2 (1) President Donald J. Trump did knowingly 3 and purposefully incite a violent and unlawful insur- 4 rection against the United States; 5 (2) any individual who participated in, aided, or 6 abetted the violent and unlawful insurrection at the 7 United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, should 8 be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the laws of 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Jan 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR40.IH HR40 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 40 IH the United States and be brought to justice, and 1 considered ineligible for civil or military office under 2 the United States pursuant to section 3 of the 14th 3 Amendment to the Constitution; 4 (3) for any House Member, Delegate, or Resi- 5 dent Commissioner who participated in, aided, or 6 abetted this violent insurrection, or through their 7 public pronouncements via official or unofficial chan- 8 nels encouraged it, the Committee on Ethics should 9 initiate an investigation into whether such Member, 10 Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may have vio- 11 lated the Code of Official Conduct set forth in rule 12 XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives 13 and determine the appropriate sanction, up to and 14 including expulsion; and 15 (4) for any Senator who participated in, aided, 16 or abetted this violent insurrection, or through their 17 public pronouncements via official or unofficial chan- 18 nels encouraged it, the Select Committee on Ethics 19 of the Senate should conduct a similar investigation 20 and recommend similarly appropriate sanctions. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Jan 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR40.IH HR40 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB