Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, was the first president in history to be impeached twice. On January 13th, 2021, President Trump was impeached for a single article: incitement of insurrection. According to ABC News, The House of  Representatives’ votes were divided - 232 to impeach and 197 against. The case of second impeachment emerged after the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. It was not a protest, it was a disrespectful act of violence carried by, whom many called, domestic terrorists. Based on the videos and other evidence, the riot was organized and performed by Trump supporters who were called and encouraged by Trump to march on the Capitol and protest -- while spreading false news on the election. Many criminals that were part of this riot said that they were invited by President Trump to the Capitol and to do what he wanted. Seven people are dead because Trump did not want to admit that he lost the election and encouraged people to fight for him. Windows were broken, many items stolen, and the whole building disrespected -- damaged. The rioters went to senators’ offices, disturbed them, and left threatening messages. At the time the riot was happening, Trump did not do anything to stop it. In fact, sources say that Vice President Mike Pence was the one who called the National Guard. 

Donald Trump repeatedly told his supporters over the long period of time that the election was stolen, to fight for him, get their country back, and not to refrain from the use of force. Many of his staff resigned and the rest consider him unstable and unable to do his job. You do not need to listen to the news to decide who is responsible for riots. You need only carefully listen to Trump’s speeches. If you say the news takes it out of context, then read his full tweets and research his full speeches. Do not only think about the meaning of his words, but also how his speeches affect his followers. During his four year term, he praised people who used violence, showed clear admiration for absolute rulers, imposed many executive actions that did not benefit us, and said the election was unfair, rigged, and stolen. Trump, who calls himself “a very stable genius”, does not listen to the experts and scientists, he ridicules people wearing masks which results in an increase of infections and puts people in danger. He sees masks as unmanly and not necessary … How so? I see them as a simple and inexpensive tool to reduce the chance of infection or at the minimum, as a sign of respect for others. Trump contradicts himself all the time, disregards his own words, our rights, and our Constitution.

Many rioters said they wanted to get their freedom back. But what freedom is it? Is it the right to be violent? Or is it the appreciation of our rights, having the platform to discuss our differences, and reaching consensus peacefully? On the impeachment voting, many House Representatives had a lot of comments to convince their colleagues that their point of view was right. Most Republicans were against the impeachment but their arguments were off topic and discussed the divisions, economy, past and future but not the pure subject of the impeachment which was Trump encouraging the riots. A very common argument was that the impeachment would further divide the county. It is not a reasonable argument because everybody should be equal under the law. The country is already divided by comments and actions performed by the President. So if a person from a white supremacy group would kill an African American, he shouldn’t be charged because it would further racial division? Or because white supremacists might think it was right? No, that person should be charged because they committed a crime - an evil crime. Trump committed crimes too, therefore he should be charged as well. The other argument was that there were only a few days left till the end of Trump’s presidency. How is this relevant since he committed a crime?

In the court of law, it doesn’t matter where the accused is going to go the next day or what he is doing. If he allegedly committed a crime, he needs to be charged and if proven guilty, convicted. Wouldn’t it be absurd if a sick person who can die in two weeks commits for example a burglary, he/she shouldn’t be charged and convicted because “it doesn’t make sense”? No, the person did a crime and got charged and needs to be convicted for his/her action. Another absurdity was the argument completely unrelated to the case like what the Democrats did in the past. This case was about Trump’s impeachment, not Democrats’ past actions. If Republicans think the Democrats did something wrong in the past, they can bring it up to court, because this case was only about Trump. Democrats' comments were focused on the Capitol riot which left many people speechless. They connected it to President actions who said that he would march with the protesters to the Capitol to get their freedom, their country back. Democrats pointed out that at the beginning of the bloody riot, he didn’t do anything to stop it and unite people, just the opposite: he encouraged violence during his entire term.

Many are concerned about other actions that need to be taken, like distribution of the vaccine. Still, many want to see a fair justice system. The President decided to be silent about his own impeachment. Without taking any sides, think about these arguments and carefully consider your opinion on the politicians’ actions and their choices. No matter what you think, we are all equal people - despite our differences.  Instead of thinking about this as the source of division, think about it as the key to unification. Instead of looking at each other’s ideas and points of view as threatening, don’t just hear them but also listen to them. Because having a variety of ideas, we can choose the most efficient ones, grow and evolve together. If you still disagree with another person's thoughts, keep listening, maybe one day you will understand the beauty of being unique.