FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENews from Progress Michigan
January 7, 2021
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
MI Republicans Involved in Trump Rally, Election Lies Must Be Held Accountable
Elected and Republicans Party officials need to resign or be removed from power
MICHIGAN — In the wake of an attack by a white, right-wing mob on the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday, Progress Michigan is calling for swift accountability for those who spread lies about the election that sparked the violence and those who participated in organizing the Trump rally in the nation’s capital. Specifically, the organization is calling on the Michigan GOP to oust likely co-chair Meshawn Maddock and for the 11 Republican lawmakers who signed onto a letter trying to overturn the results of the election, as well as for State Rep. Matt Maddock who attended the event in Washington D.C. to be removed or resign from office.
“What happened in D.C. yesterday was not an unexpected flash in the pan, but a predictable outcome from months of lies and misinformation stoked by Republican lawmakers and Republican Party officials,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Anyone who organized participation in the anti-democracy rally in D.C. and anyone who perpetuated lies about our election has blood on their hands and needs to be held accountable. Elected officials need to be removed from office or resign and the Republican Party needs to hold their own who were culpable in the attack we witnessed yesterday accountable.”
People like Meshawn Maddock who leads organizations like the Michigan Trump Republicans and the Michigan Conservative Coalition, which for months have spread lies about our election and is slated to be the next co-chair of the Michigan GOP, cannot be allowed to hold power within the state party. Maddock was a key organizer of the droves of Michigan residents who went to the anti-democracy Trump rally that erupted into right-wing mob violence, which she boasted about on social media. In the wake of said violence, the two above mentioned organizations spread lies about those who perpetuated the violence, falsely claiming they were anti-fascist activists.
Progress Michigan is also calling for the resignation of 11 state senators who signed onto a letter that perpetuated the lies surrounding Michigan’s election, as well as U.S. Representatives Lisa McClain, Tim Walberg and Jack Bergman for their role in fomenting violence by peddling conspiracy theories around the election and State Rep. Matt Maddock, who attended this week’s events in the capital. For months, Republican lawmakers have used public time and resources to prop up racist conspiracy theories regarding the November 3rd vote.
“The Republican Party is rotting from within because of racist conspiracy theories surrounding our election, and a distinct lack of courage to confront the lies spewed by the President and his allies, all culminating in the violent terrorist attack that we witnessed yesterday,” Scott continued. “Right-wing fringe extremism needs to be stamped out from Michigan politics. Meaning that Meshawn Maddock cannot be allowed to serve as the Michigan Republican Party co-chair and those Republican legislators who shamelessly sold these lies must resign or be removed from office.”
###