“We are staff working for members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, where it is our honor and privilege to serve our country and our fellow Americans. We are writing this letter to share our own views and experiences, but not the views of our employers.But on January 6, 2021, our workplace was attacked by a violent mob that tried to stop the election college count.The mob was incited by former President Donald J. Trump and his political allies, of which we are in the corridors at work every day, ”more than 370 staff members wrote in the letter that was announced on Wednesday.
Trump was charged by the House of Representatives before leaving office in January for inciting the uprising at the Capitol, forcing lawmakers and staff members to vacate their offices. The arguments in the Senate hearing will begin next week, and executives of indictments will argue that Trump is “separately responsible” for the riot, according to a statement they submitted Tuesday.
“As employees of Congress, we do not vote on whether we should convict Donald J. Trump for his role in inciting the violent attack on the Capitol, but our Senators do. And for our sake and for the sake of the country. asks that they vote to condemn the former president and prevent him from ever holding office again. ‘
According to the organizers, the letter comes from more than 100 home offices, 15 Senate offices and ten different committees, including judicial, oversight and foreign affairs committees.
“No one needs to experience something like this in their workplace,” a staff member familiar with drafting the letter told CNN last week. “And I think it’s important to tell this part of the story, because it’s not just members of Congress who come to work at the Capitol every day. And it’s not just staff members who work at the Capitol who are traumatized. “By what happened. And I think it’s a piece of it. The trauma is there; the trauma is very real. And when new information comes out, you know, you’re kind of traumatized.”
This story has been updated with additional information.