Ocean Conservancy’s CEO Janis Searles Jones (@InVeritas_Jones) released the following statement regarding yesterday’s events in Washington, D.C., calling for President Trump to be removed from office and for others to be held accountable for their roles in inciting violence and sowing distrust in the election process:

“Ocean Conservancy calls for the swift removal of President Trump from office and for his enablers and those who took part in the mob to be held accountable for their despicable actions.

Yesterday was a dark day in our nation’s history. The violent occupation of our national Capitol building as Congress convened to ceremonially count the Electoral College votes from a free and fair presidential election was nothing short of anti-democratic. The Capitol is the “People’s House,” and our Constitution protects “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” But that’s not what we witnessed yesterday. Instead we saw a violent, anti-democratic mob aimed at overturning the will of the people and disrupting the peaceful transfer of power following a democratic election. We are appalled and angered by the vast differences in the police response to the violent mob that stormed the Capitol yesterday as compared with the peaceful protests against anti-Black racism last summer.

Yesterday’s violence did not emerge from nowhere. It was planted, fanned and fomented by elected officials—starting with President Donald Trump—who supported, repeated and gave voice to baseless conspiracy theories about the outcome and integrity of our election. Trump, the other government officials who supported this insurrection, and those who took part in the mob must be held accountable for their irresponsible, dangerous and illegal actions. President Trump has proven to be a clear and present danger to our democracy in the final days of his presidency, and it is unconscionable to allow him to remain in office.

At Ocean Conservancy, core beliefs power our work. The ocean belongs to all of us. Everyone has the right and access to a clean, healthy, thriving ocean. Everyone has a role to play in protecting our ocean. And above all, we believe in the power of our democracy and our democratic institutions to protect those rights and to secure a healthy ocean for everyone. Our work at Ocean Conservancy depends on citizens’ voices calling for change to help the ocean and all that rely on it—that’s possible only in a democracy. Therefore, when the tenets of our democracy are attacked or questioned, we must speak up for justice and the swift removal of the president, and for his enablers and those that took part in yesterday’s violence to be held responsible.”