RESOLUTION NO. XX
RESOLUTION DEFENDING DEMOCRACY AND THE SACRED RIGHT OF VOTING AND CONDEMNING THE EVENTS OF JANUARY 6, 2021 AT THE CAPITAL BUILDING WHEREAS, voting for our elected officials is a sacred right enshrined in the US Constitution; and
WHEREAS, a violent mob attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to allow the will of the people to install Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States; and WHEREAS, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 insurrection found “evidence from multiple witnesses,” and “documents on file” revealing that Congressman Scott Perry (R- PA) used an encrypted texting app, documenting that “the president was watching television coverage of the attack from his private dining room adjoining the Oval Office” and that “[e]ven after the crowd ultimately dispersed late in the day, then-President Trump, through his legal team, continued to seek to delay or otherwise impede the electoral count”; and WHEREAS, there is evidence that former President Trump made phone calls in the hours before January 6, pressing his allies into a scheme to replace Biden’s certified electors with uncertified electors pledged to him; and
WHEREAS, insurrectionist Robert Palmer of Florida, who threw a fire extinguisher at police on January 6 in the worst of the fighting at the U.S. Capitol, blamed Trump for lying to supporters that the election was stolen and calling on them to “stand up to tyranny.” Palmer was sentenced to more than five years in prison. Others have likewise implicated Trump in their defense pleas; and
WHEREAS, former President Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows had encrypted material on his cell phone which included a PowerPoint outlining how to overturn the election and emails about the National Guard protecting pro-Trump protesters, as well as texts with members of Congress about undermining the election results; and
WHEREAS, text messages Mark Meadows had exchanged as the attack was ongoing with Republican lawmakers, Conservative media personalities, and the former president’s eldest son reveal that Trump and his allies were well aware of the attack on the Capitol and did nothing to stop it for a full three hours; and
WHEREAS, this raises the question of Donald Trump corruptly seeking to obstruct or impede Congress’s proceedings, which would be a dereliction of duty and his is a serious federal crime; and
WHEREAS, multiple law suits found no evidence of voter fraud, eight senators and 139 representatives voted to sustain objections to the official vote count; and
WHEREAS, preservation of democracy requires honoring the sacred right of voting, which is a basic Human Right which must be defended.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVIED that we, the members of the Richmond City Council, do hereby call on all of our fellow residents to defend this Human Right and to stand against all foes foreign and domestic that attempt to subvert or take this right away. --------------
I certify that the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted by the Council of the City of Richmond at a regular meeting thereof held on INSERT DATE, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTENTIONS:
ABSENT:
CLERK OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND
Approved:
Mayor
Approved as to form:
City Attorney