Guest column

Fairley named Obama Foundation Leader; Student film festival

As we mark the six-year anniversary of the violent White nationalist march in Charlottesville, political violence remains a serious threat to our democracy. Sadly, the infamous “Unite the Right” rally was a harbinger of this troubling trend in America, fueled by former President Donald Trump and his supporters, of bringing fringe elements and violence out of the shadows and into the mainstream.

On that day we watched in horror as White supremacists marched through the streets chanting, “we will not be replaced,” a historic antisemitic trope. Stunningly, in what should have been a moment for Americans to unite against hatred, Trump told the nation that there were “very fine people on both sides” of this deadly clash. Sadly, still many in the Republican Party continue to fail to call out this hateful and dangerous rhetoric.

Antisemitic incidents remain at an all-time high this year in America. Hate crimes and violence against African Americans and Asian Americans have skyrocketed. Threats to members of Congress have multiplied tenfold from 906 in the first year of the Trump presidency to a staggering 9,600 by 2021. And election officials and volunteers across the country have been intimidated, harassed and threatened with violence.

Neither of us are immune to these threats.

As Virginia’s first Jewish and first female speaker of the House of Delegates in its 400-year history, antisemitic threats of violence — both publicly and privately — happened often.

But we refused to be intimidated or be silenced.

Filler-Corn

On Jan. 20, 2020, even as thousands of armed protestors descended on Richmond’s Capitol Square in an attempt to intimidate legislators and prevent the passage of important gun safety measures, we did not relent. To the contrary, under Democratic leadership, the General Assembly took action to enact commonsense gun violence prevention measures supported by the vast majority of Virginians. Among the measures our Democratic majority enacted was legislation to prohibit the possession of firearms during political demonstrations and allow localities to ban firearms in government buildings and public spaces. The following year, the FBI revealed they had thwarted a potential assassination attempt as part of this rally and there are individuals in prison today as a result.

Violence at the federal level is just as evident. All of America remembers Trump telling his supporters to march on the U. S. Capitol and “fight like hell” on Jan. 6. Well over a thousand Americans, including Trump, have now been charged for their actions that day, and hundreds are currently serving prison sentences. Amid the broken glass and bloodstained marble left behind by the insurrectionists, we refused to be intimidated and insisted on resuming the certification of the election in the chamber of the House of Representatives. The endurance of our democracy demanded no less.

What our leaders say and do in public has great consequences. Trump continues to stoke political violence at the national level, and we are seeing fringe conspiracy theories rise from the darkest corners of the internet to the halls of Congress. All the while, Trump’s allies — including Gov. Glenn Youngkin — denigrate and attack our fellow Virginians for political gain, from his public school “tip line” in his first days in office to his removal of life-saving resources for transgender students, to a member of his administration declaring that “diversity, equity, and inclusion is dead” in a public address, to his joke at a public rally about the attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband.

Connolly

This November, Virginians have the opportunity to reject candidates for the General Assembly and local office, far too many of whom condone violence and intimidation for political gain. Law-abiding citizens have the opportunity to take a step forward in realizing a Virginia that is more open, inclusive and prosperous for everyone, no matter who they are.

Tone and vision matter whether you’re an elected official or political candidate. The choice this year in Virginia, and next year nationwide, is between one group of extreme politicians who either encourage or refuse to condemn political violence. On the other side, our side, a different set of candidates, supported by a majority of voters, reject political violence and all forms of harassment against our fellow citizens. We believe in and work for a better America, for all Americans.

The patriotic choice is to embrace hope and, always, to express our differences without resorting to violence.

Gerry Connolly is a U.S. congressman representing Virginia’s 11th District in the House of Representatives. He was first elected in 2008. Connolly lives in Mantua.

Eileen Filler-Corn is a delegate in the Virginia House representing Virginia’s 41st District. She served as the 56th speaker of the House of Delegates from 2020 to 2022. Filler-Corn lives in Springfield.

They are both Democrats.

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Fairley named Obama Foundation Leader; Student film festival