WASHINGTON–Former Pres. Donald Trump should face criminal charges in the Jan. 6 attack, said Rep. Andre Carson, a Democrat who represents Indianapolis in Washington, in a town hall broadcast Tuesday night.
“Pursuing criminal charges against a president who has betrayed the trust of the America people is paramount in my mind,” said Carson, during the town hall presented by Indiana Town Halls, a non-partisan, non-profit. It was broadcast on WFYI and on YouTube. The program was taped Feb. 15.
“Sedition is a great start. Treason is another great charge,” he said. “I think those two alone will give a lot of the great minds on that [Jan. 6] committee enough to work with.”
Carson was not asked to justify his reasoning.
He said he believes his Hoosier colleagues in both the House and Senate should repudiate any support for Trump or “conspiracy theories” related to the attack.
“The very thought of politicians having to deal with Trump…has caused many people to deviate and pivot away from their inherent value system and even political beliefs,” he said.
Carson said his hope is that over time Republicans will be bolder in their approach “in terms of their condemnation of the lies and the falsehoods that are spewed as it relates to the Jan. 6 attack”.
Carson said a man was apprehended with his name on a list of two Muslims in Congress, when in fact there are three. Carson said the man had explosives in his truck.
“We cannot move on from this tragic day until we have a clearer picture of how it happened and how we can prevent it from ever happening again,” said Carson. “Many people with blood on their hands are hoping people forget what took place so they can evade accountability. We can’t let it happen.”
Carson did not specify who he was talking about by name.
In the same town hall, Carson answered questions about voting rights, saying he believes in grass roots efforts to get people out to vote, but that he also believes in mail-in and drive-up voting.
