US Election: Democrats to Spotlight Threats to Democracy at National Convention in Chicago

At this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, party leaders are set to underscore the dangers they believe former President Donald Trump poses to democracy.

The convention will feature speeches from lawmakers and figures directly impacted by the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

Key speakers include Representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, both of whom played significant roles on the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection.

The committee’s final report in 2022 recommended that Trump be disqualified from holding public office again.

Retired Capitol Police officer St. Aquilino Gonell, who sustained injuries during the attack, is also slated to address the convention. Gonell has since become a vocal critic of Trump and the Republicans who defend him.

In a statement, Gonell emphasized, “Donald Trump’s failure to denounce the violence on January 6, 2021, is a betrayal to every officer who put their life on the line that day.”

Former Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, another key figure on the January 6 committee and now a CNN political commentator, is scheduled to speak on Thursday. Kinzinger was among the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection.

The convention will also hear from the “Tennessee Three” — state Representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson — who made headlines after leading a gun control protest on the Tennessee House floor last year.

Also, Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett and Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, the latter known for his role as pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, are on the roster of speakers.

Vice President Kamala Harris, now a presidential candidate, is shifting her campaign’s focus toward addressing the threats to democracy, a theme President Joe Biden emphasized during his candidacy.

The Harris campaign aims to remind voters of the high stakes in the upcoming election.

In a statement to CNN, Raskin remarked, “The 2024 election will determine whether political democracy remains a part of America’s future,” while highlighting the coercive violence used during the Capitol attack to disrupt the democratic process.