NORTHAMPTON — The day that the U.S. Department of Justice hands out indictments for the events surrounding the attack on the nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is the day that will get Jennifer Taub dancing.  

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen here, but if we do not see charges, then our freedom and our vote are still at risk,” Taub said in addressing some 100 people gathered on the steps of Northampton City Hall on Saturday afternoon to mark the two-year anniversary of what many describe as a dark day for democracy.  “I promise you when and if there is an indictment, you will find me here dancing around.”

The event marks two years since rioters descended on the Capitol, supporting former President Donald Trump’s false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. The anniversary comes in the wake of a House Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack releasing its final report late last month after an 18-month probe, in which it says that Trump criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol.

Saturday’s “Our Freedoms, Our Vote” event in Northampton, originally scheduled to be held on Friday evening, the actual two-year anniversary date, was moved to Saturday due to inclement weather, according to Debby Pastrich-Klemer, who organized the event. The rally, part of a series of nationwide events, was intended to push for accountability to prevent future power grabs by  Trump and his allies, and to tell elected leaders to act on a mandate for democracy reforms to protect our freedom to vote. 

“The election deniers are already looking to 2024 for ways to overturn the role of voters,” Pastrich-Klemer told rallygoers while speaking on top of the steps of city hall. “We cannot be complacent, and we must protect our elections by protecting voters and election officials in a free and fair process.”

Speakers at the event included Marisol Pierce Bonifaz, the founder of the youth activist group Generation Ratify Amherst, and her father John Bonifaz, an attorney and political activist based in Amherst.

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern was scheduled to speak at the rally but was unable to attend due to the recent Speaker of the House vote which saw a record 15 attempts lasting four days before Rep. Kevin McCarthy prevailed.

In a statement written by McGovern and read to the crowd by Pastrich-Klemer, he recalled being there on the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

“It was an awful, awful day, not just because of the damage to the building, but because of the damage it did to our democracy,” he wrote. “I still remember getting a text from my daughter hoping I was OK, and hearing the screams of the rioters, looking into their eyes and seeing evil.”

McGovern also drew parallels between the events of that day and last week’s chaotic scenes in the House of Representatives. Many of the Republicans who initially voted against McCarthy, and thus delaying the result, had been strong supporters of Trump and had amplified his claims about the 2020 election.

“The coup is still underway, not just in attempts to nullify and suppress the votes of millions of Americans, but in attempts by the radical right to hijack Congress,” he wrote.

Taub, a law professor at the Western New England University School of Law, told the crowd that the U.S. Justice Department must take action. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed by Garland, are overseeing an investigation related to Trump’s involvement in the events of Jan. 6, 2021 and for the former president’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Taub told the Gazette in an interview that although it’s easy to draw parallels between the events of the House of Representatives today and the events of two years ago, it was important not to forget the magnitude and bloodshed of what occurred on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Two years ago, we had a  violent attack on Congress, people died, and they were trying to assassinate the Speaker of the House,” she said. “We’re having this event to remind people because it’s been brushed under the rug by Merrick Garland.”

The rally ended with the singing of “God Bless America,” led by Dr. Shirley Whitaker, a nephrologist and artist based in western Massachusetts. Whitaker noted the song was written by Irving Berlin, a Jewish immigrant fleeing antisemitism and authoritarianism in Europe, and hoped that such events would never take hold in the United States.

“My feeling is that on Jan. 6, they came with the idea to stamp out the light for democracy,” she said. “Our goal is to make sure that light is not stamped out.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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