Black legislators were among the main voices pressing for the end of Donald Trump’s presidency through impeachment. Wednesday afternoon, they came a step closer to getting their wish.
For the second time in less than 13 months, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, led by Democrats who were terrified when a mob incited by Trump laid siege on the U.S. Capitol a week ago.
Lawmakers like Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who was in the building when hundreds of rioters breached the entrance and ransacked offices, hallways and galleries, were stern in their language and determined to impose the measure, even though the president has only seven days left in office.

“If we fail to remove a white supremacist president who incited a white supremacist insurrection, it’s communities like Missouri’s first district that suffer the most,” she said during the House session. “The 117th Congress must understand that we have a mandate to legislate in defense of Black lives, the first step in that process is to root out white supremacy starting with impeaching the white supremacist-in-chief.”

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The House voted 232-197. It is the first time a U.S. President has been impeached twice in the nation’s history. Ten Republicans decided to join the Democrats, also angered that they came dangerously close to harm or worse as insurrectionists ran wildly through the Capitol building.
Five people died in the chaos, including a Capitol police officer who died after sustaining injuries when he was beaten by rioters. The incident has placed the entire nation at alarm because of continued threats to state capitol buildings, while security has become significantly tightened for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris scheduled on Jan. 20.
The rioters stormed into the building after a rally in protest of the 2020 elections results, which Trump has consistently complained was “rigged.” Dozens of courts across the nation have proven this completely baseless and the U.S. Supreme Court would not even entertain Trump’s contention.
Speaking to attendees of the “Stop the Steal” rally, Trump encouraged them to “fight like hell” against what he insists was a stolen election. They apparently took this to mean they should lay siege to the seat of the U.S. government and broke through its barriers, with one man carrying zip-tie flex cuffs, another carrying a confederate battle flag, and others calling for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence to be killed.
Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the House majority whip, said that instead of accepting the election results, Trump “sought to overturn them by inciting a violent insurrection. But we were not deterred from doing our constitutional duty,” he said. “Today we must do our constitutional duty once again.
“While the president failed in his attempt to upend our democracy,” he continued, “last Wednesday’s events make clear that if we do not hold him accountable and remove him from power, a future attempt could very well be successful.”

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The NAACP issued a statement, which in part, reads: “We will not back down until Donald Trump is convicted for his crimes. The NAACP will not stand for any of us having to relive the worst of our nation’s history. We are dedicated to holding these perpetrators and the officials who supported them accountable and protecting the rights of Black and brown voters from retaliation in future elections.”

Trump himself issued a statement, which was read on the House floor, since he can no longer use social media as his usual means of communication after being banned from major platforms. 

“In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind,” he said, but without taking any responsibility for the violence. “That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”
Trump was first impeached in Dec. 2019 over his dealings with Ukraine, but the Senate voted to acquit him. The procedure now moves to the Senate again, which could possibly change course, given that its outgoing majority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell reportedly supports removing Trump from office. The soonest that could happen is Jan. 19, the day before the inauguration.
If impeached, Trump would lose the privileges afforded to Presidents and former Presidents and would not be allowed to run for federal office again.