Republican Congressman Peter Meijer of Michigan was one of nine first-year lawmakers who voted to maintain the Nov. 3 election results. He told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that now his life could be at risk because of it.
“We realize it was a vote we cast that put our security at risk, and going forward, I hope there will probably be more political violence,” Meijer said. “So my expectation and the expectation of some people I’m talking to who are trying to vote our conscience on this, there will be people trying to kill us, and that’s what we have to fight for every day.”
Meijer added that, in turn, this threat of violence has forced and will continue to intimidate some of his Republican colleagues into voting alongside the Trump administration. In one opinion, Meijer wrote that another lawmaker only opposed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory because they feared President Trump’s supporters would come after his family.
“That was what weighed on my partner’s conscience, and the last thing that individual told me, the concern for the safety of that individual’s family, if that individual voted to certify the election,” he said Meijer. “This is where the rhetoric has taken us. This is the degree of fear that has been created.”
The House of Representatives is now about to accuse Trump for the second time without precedent. House Democrats filed a dismissal article, accusing Trump of inciting the insurgent crowd that stormed the Capitol last week. It left five people dead, including a police officer.
The article denounces that Trump has “shown that he will continue to be a threat to national security, democracy and the Constitution if he is allowed to hold office.” Voting on dismissal is scheduled for Wednesday. Meijer said he is “thinking hard” about voting to accuse Trump.
“I’ve had colleagues who oppose and raise concerns about the schedule, who raise concerns about the process, and who worry about the reception,” Meijer told host Shepard Smith. “I have not heard anyone raise concerns about the merits and I think the president’s actions last Wednesday disqualified him and left him unfit for office.”
Sources said minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told House Republicans in a conference call that President Trump has some responsibility for the deadly riot. Meijer said the future of the Republican Party is in balance. He added that the Republican party must fulfill the lie that November 3 was a total victory for Trump and that many Republican voters have been deceived by those in power.
“Instead of telling the people of America and their supporters what they need to hear, we’ve had too many politicians tell them what they want to hear,” Meijer said. “This kind of reactive leadership will never make the Republican party a trusted party to return to rule in this country and we have to fix it.”