Editorial: You can’t have unity without justice

“Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our country.” 

Those words were spoken by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today before the House of Representatives voted to make Trump the first United States president to ever be impeached twice. 

Trump was formally charged with “incitement of insurrection” one week after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol Building, a riot that resulted in five deaths, including a police officer. 

This is unprecedented. And what happens next will define us as a nation. 

Many Republicans are calling for unity. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy even recently tweeted, “Impeaching the President with just 12 days left will only divide our country more.”

While I do agree that yes, we as a country need unity. We need to come together and become stronger and begin the arduous task of healing after the nightmare that was 2020. But you can’t have unity without consequences. 

You can’t have unity without justice.

You can’t simply say you want to once again embrace the United States of America when you stood idly by when Neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville and the president called them “very fine people.” You can’t unite now after people ransacked our country’s capital, chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” and beat a police officer to death. 

Make no mistake. This was a terrorist attack, and Donald Trump incited it. He may not have been on the steps of the Capitol Building or in the rotunda during last week’s siege, but he was there. He told his supporters the election was rigged. He told them the media was fake, the Democrats were the enemy. He has been feeding this “us vs them” ruse for four years. And he needs to be brought to justice. 

As Pelosi said this afternoon before signing his impeachment:

“No one is above the law—not even the President of the United States.”