TO: Representative Doug Lamborn & Representative Lauren Boebert
The final congressional proceedings to certify Joe Biden’s victory were disrupted yesterday by a terrorist attack in support of outgoing President Donald Trump, storming the U.S. Capitol and forcing the evacuation of elected officials and the lockdown of the United States Capitol building. In response, a broad, diverse coalition of undersigned progressive advocacy groups and leaders in Colorado are demanding your immediate resignation for your role in inciting the violence and insurrection that gripped Washington, D.C. and claimed the lives of at least four Americans. Our organizations collectively believe in democracy as a tool to create a more just and fair world—and we believe in steadfastly upholding the basic tenets of that democracy to secure a free and fair society. Since you have badly failed to do so, your immediate resignation is now warranted and necessary.
The basic and fundamental responsibilities of our elected officials are to represent the will of the people—to uphold the tenets of our constitution and respect our democratic institutions. You, Rep. Lauren Boebert and Rep. Doug Lamborn, have betrayed the trust of Colorado voters by helping incite violence against the body you were elected to, a body designed to serve us. By endorsing the president’s unsubstantiated and repeatedly debunked, discredited, and false claims of voter fraud, you encouraged and tacitly endorsed the actions of these terrorists and threatened the basic foundation of our democracy.
The violence in Washington D.C. yesterday by supporters of President Donald Trump was a terrible offense against the rights of every American to live in a free and fair democracy—an attack on our country and on our people. You and President Trump attempted to overturn the November 2020 elections after dozens of judges, the U.S. Supreme Court, and even the President’s own Attorney General rejected the false and outrageous claims that have fomented the violence we saw yesterday.
You are directly responsible for the destruction and mayhem that engulfed the U.S. Capitol and American democracy yesterday. Never in our history has such a baseless attempt to subvert the will of the voters been allowed to fester into violence inside the United States Capitol. Just three days ago, Rep. Boebert publicly announced her intention to carry a handgun into the Capitol in violation of local and federal laws. A woman was killed inside the Capitol, and violent insurrectionists brought their ammunition to the House floor. There were at least two suspected incendiary devices found in D.C. outside the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee alike.
Your sycophantic lack of leadership has endangered Americans. Every member of Congress who helped incite protesters to violence in the People’s House today has forfeited their ability to serve there. You have proven with your actions that you do not respect our democratic institutions, and therefore have no business representing the great state of Colorado in Congress—you must resign immediately.
Over the summer, Black and Brown protestors and activists peacefully demanded justice and an end to systemic and institutional racism. The National Guard was on standby then, with a militarized police force who didn’t hesitate to use military tactics against peaceful groups, but when white extremists threatened the very foundation of our democracy, police took selfies with them and literally opened the gate for them.
You and other conservative leaders issued exaggerated condemnations of racial justice protesters as being supposedly violent, but yesterday we saw true violence against our democracy play out, as the chickens of your extremism have come home to roost.
The events of January 6 2021, which you each incited and directly encouraged, were a blatant assault on our country. Your role in yesterday’s violent failed coup makes you unworthy, and undeserving of the honor of representing Colorado in Congress. You violated the oath of office you took mere days ago. Therefore we demand your immediate resignation and an end to your fanning of the flames that caused this attempted coup at once.
Signed,
State Senator Julie Gonzales
State Senator Chris Hansen
State Senator Dominick Moreno
State Senator Brittany Pettersen
State Senator Tammy Story
State Senator-Elect, State Representative Sonya Jacquez-Lewis
State Representative Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez
Aurora City Councilmember Alison Coombs
Aurora City Councilmember Crystal Murillo
Aurora City Councilmember Juan Marcano
Broomfield City Councilmember Deven Shaff
Broomfield City Councilmember Heidi Henkel
Broomfield City Councilmember Guyleen Castriotta
Edgewater City Councilmember Caleb Rountree
Edgewater City Councilmember Michal Rosenoer
American Federation of Teachers Colorado
Ark Valley Indivisible
Denver City Council President Stacie Gilmoree
Denver City Councilmember Candi CdeBaca
Denver City Councilmember Chris Hinds
Denver School Board Director Tay Anderson
9to5 Colorado
Boulder Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Blue Rising
Citizens for Democracy
Clergy Emergency League, Colorado Chapter
COBALT
COLOR Action Fund
Colorado AFL-CIO
Colorado People’s Action
Colorado Rising
Colorado WINS
Colorado Working Families Party
Communications Workers of America District 7
Denver Creative Industries Alliance
Denver Democratic Socialists of America
Denver Young Democrats
Indivisible CD5
Indivisible CD6
Indivisible CD7
Indivisible Denver
Indivisible Durango
Indivisible Front Range Resistance
Indivisible Grand Junction
Indivisible Highlands Ranch
Indivisible Montrose Colorado
Indivisible Weld & Adams County
New Era Colorado Action Fund
Laura Packard
Lorena Garcia
One Broomfield Indivisible
One Colorado
Pike’s Peak Progressives
ProgressNow Colorado
Project VOYCE
Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado
Rosemari Ochoa LLC
Ron Ruggiero, President, SEIU Local 105
SEIU Colorado
The Resistance 5280
Transformative Leadership for Change
Trish Zornio
UFCW Local 7
United for a New Economy Action
UNITE HERE Local 23
Women’s Lobby of Colorado
Warm Cookies of the Revolution
Youth R.E.P.