Lawmakers Fear More Jan. 6-Like Violence As Donald Trump Amps Up Election Lies

WASHINGTON ― Members of Congress are on edge about the possibility of more violence in this year’s presidential election, less than four years after a mob of Donald Trump supporters ransacked the U.S. Capitol seeking to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 contest.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are anticipating that Trump, who faces felony charges for working to overturn the results of the last election, will again sow chaos and challenge the election results if he loses to Vice President Kamala Harris.

“If for some reason he were to lose, he will contest the validity of the election, just like he did last time,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told HuffPost this week, warning that the former president is liable to invent a reason to do so.

“If he were to lose ― particularly if he were to lose by a small margin ― of course, he will contest it… and there could well be disruption if that were the case,” Romney said.

“I’m worried about another January 6 scenario because former President Trump is acting like he did when he lost the last time,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. “I mean, you don’t have to be a mind reader to know what their game plan is ― they’re saying the silent part out loud.”

Trump’s lies about voter fraud in the last election incited the violent Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where more than 140 police officers sustained injuries while defending the building. Five people died after the riot, and the attack on Congress caused about $2.7 billion in damages, according to the Government Accountability Office.

This time around, Trump and his Republican allies are attempting to stir fears about noncitizen voting, something that is illegal and rarely