To the editor:
On January 6, 2025, the certifi cation of the electoral vote of the 2024 US presidential election went off without a hitch as it has for 59 elections over 235 years, except for one time, January 6, 2021. I haven’t forgotten the unbelievable events I witnessed that January as the president incited protesters to go to the capital and stop certification of the election he had lost. That mob assaulted police, vandalized the capital, and forced the legislature to evacuate in fear for their lives. The president refused to intervene for several hours. One police officer died and 174 were injured. One rioter died and many of them were injured. This violence was fomented over two months by that president and his agents with the lie that the election had been stolen. That president is now my president again. Unlike most Republicans four years ago, I accept the results of the election. I did not vote for Mr. Trump. His values are antithetical to mine. His lying, assaults on women, fraudulent election and business practices, and disdain for the rule of law are as disqualifying for me as it was for 50.1% of the American electorate. Unlike those who voted for him in three elections, I don’t feel my country has been taken from me. I believe in democracy, my vote still counts and I hope to exercise it again. I am going on record here that I for one am watching closely for what comes next.
Jim Schwantes Centerville Township
