There is a Law
Why hasn't it been enforced?
We are about to install as president someone who thinks he will be our king. And he has brought along his nobles. But he has undermined our nation with a rebellion. Therefore, he is disqualified to hold the office. I have contacted our Senators and House Rep.
Below is a Substack letter from Carol Kocivar who explains it much better than I can. The idea is simple. There is a law.
Send a Reminder to Congress:
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. §2383. Rebellion or insurrection (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 S
Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress
When my son was in 7th grade, he came home from school and told me he had been sent to the principal for insubordination.
He didn’t exactly use that word.
He said his teacher sent him to the principal because he spoke up in class to challenge the teacher for failing to enforce class rules against bullying.
My reaction to the incident turned from reprimand to praise after he said he spoke up to protect a friend from the rantings of teenage boys.
The thoughtful principal heard the full story and– instead of punishing my son– had a talk with the teacher about classroom management.
I remembered that just now as I created a petition asking Congress not to confirm an insurrectionist as president of the United States.
We should not have someone as our president who tried to overthrow the government.
The 14th amendment of the United States Constitution and federal law are very clear. We should not have someone as our president who tried to overthrow the government.
The recent Supreme Court decision, Trump v Anderson, did not dispute that we should not have an insurrectionist as president. It merely said decisions on disqualification of a federal candidate be made at the federal level, not the state level.
(Colorado had tried to keep Donald Trump off the state presidential ballot after the court found that Trump was involved in an insurrection.) Notably, the Supreme Court did not challenge the Colorado court finding that Trump was an insurrectionist.
It merely said, wait a second. That decision on disqualification of a presidential candidate under the 14th amendment should be made at the federal level.
But then, the court kicked the can down the road.
It said that to enforce the disqualification provision in the 14th amendment, there needs to be an act of congress.
Hello. Hello.
There is such a law. And it says almost exactly what the 14th amendment of the Constitution says
The law is absolutely clear:
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. §2383. Rebellion or insurrection
The Supreme Court decision in March 2024 in Trump v Anderson actually quoted it.
“Shortly after ratification of the Amendment, Congress enacted the Enforcement Act of 1870. That Act authorized federal district attorneys to bring civil actions in federal court to remove anyone holding non legislative office—federal or state—in violation of Section 3, and made holding or attempting to hold office in violation of Section 3 a federal crime.”
As the Supreme court noted, a successor to those provisions remains law today. See 18 U. S. C. §2383 .
And my goodness my golly, the federal courts have been using provisions of this updated Enforcement Act of 1870 to prosecute Jan.6 insurrectionists.
Four Oath Keepers Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy Related to U.S. Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice
As an aside, I just told my husband that I was writing this and he warned, “You don’t want to get into a pissing contest with superman.”
My response:
We all should have the same amount of courage as a 12 year old boy who stood up to his teacher asking that rules be followed.
Carol is one very smart and dedicated teacher.
I highly recommend that you follow her.
By Carol Kocivar
I know it is naive to indulge in this idea at this late date. But Congress COULD do something other than roll over for a wannabe dictator insurrectionist. But I guess they would rather be “nobles” at the new court of the king.
Some memories - just in case we forgot the rebellion…
America: follow the law. Don’t install a king.
Lauri is correct, of course! That ship sailed long, long ago. An impossible Hail Mary for sure.
But think about it. We as Democrats have been cowed and crushed by bloviation and bluster. Four years ago Republicans refused to certify the results of the Electoral College on the basis of pure bullshit. No facts. Just conspiracy nonsense.
And here we are as a party, too intimidated to do the same based on real LAWS! What would the MAGA crew have done if Biden had instigated a riot that led to a rebellion?
I needed to put it out there and not go quietly into January 20th without speaking it. I am tired of us being run over like road kill.
Kudos to Carol Kocivar for saying it so well. We COULD have stopped the train of fascism.
Thank you Bill, I have been writing these emails to my Congressman, Senators, Governor, and Assemblyman monthly through November. Apparently everyone of them is too fright3en3ed of losing support of the billionaire class to be bothered with constituents. I don't know if a petition would help, I think it's too late, but I'll sign anyway if anyone start one. What I do think is the Democratic party better be ready to fight tooth and nail to get midterm elections next year.