On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Weeknight,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) stated that members of Congress “knew that, hey, one of us is going to go to jail, eventually,” and “every single member, every single person that cares about our democracy, has to decide for themselves, when are you going to stand up? Are you willing to get arrested?” And “people have done it before, in the Civil Rights movement, engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience, but there [are] consequences, and some of us will maybe end up in jail. But you know what? If we can actually save where our democracy is going, we’re willing to pay the price for that.”
Co-host Michael Steele asked, “[Y]ou have the news this evening that your colleague, Rep. McIver (D-NJ), has been indicted on federal charges as a result of the incident, if you will, outside of federal facilities in New Jersey. What’s your take on that? How do you — again, this is a ramping up. You’re now a target, sir. If you decide to go protest to stand with the people in your district about the encroachment of federal authority, the overreach by this president, you too could find yourself in a very similar situation. How do you think this plays with members of Congress?”
Gomez responded, “Well, I think a lot of members know that this is a reality. Right after Donald Trump was elected, we, like a bunch of us, were on a thread, and we knew that, hey, one of us is going to go to jail, eventually, plain and simple. … But I know that. When I went to [a detention facility], on Saturday, my wife…gave me a bag, and like, oh, here’s some fruit, here’s some, like, different — here are your pills, make sure that, because I was prepared to get arrested, understanding, even if I did nothing wrong, there was a chance that they were going to arrest me.”
Later, Gomez added, “My colleagues, a lot of us are prepared. In the end, this is heading down a dark path. And every single member, every single person that cares about our democracy, has to decide for themselves, when are you going to stand up? Are you willing to get arrested? Are you willing to stand up for the rule of law and your neighbors? This is where we’re at. And that is something that’s always in my head, especially since I have a toddler at home. If I get arrested, what does it mean for my family? But in the end, people have done it before, in the Civil Rights movement, engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience, but there [are] consequences, and some of us will maybe end up in jail. But you know what? If we can actually save where our democracy is going, we’re willing to pay the price for that.”
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