To the editor:

I, like many other citizens, have been sickened and saddened by what occurred Jan. 6. This action was fomented by President Trump! He needs to be held accountable and convicted on his impeachment charges.

He’s been encouraging these activities for months, but his Jan. 6 speech was the call to action. Sen. Roger Marshall helped create this atmosphere by objecting to the election results. He, along with Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, need to be removed from office, not censored or slapped on the wrist. Their actions directly contributed to this atmosphere. I have contacted our senator numerous times without detailed replies yet. I hope he doesn’t follow the trending Republican mantra of “let him finish his term and move on.” This to me would be like Dr. Marshall operating on a patient two weeks prior to retirement, removing both ovaries instead of doing a diagnostic procedure because he confused her with another patient and not being held accountable. I highly doubt that reactions would be “oh, how terrible, but he’ll be gone in two weeks and thus won’t be able to harm anyone else.” The harmed party would demand justice.

We are at a crossroads in our history, and we need to hold officials accountable for their actions, plain and simple. If this isn’t worthy of impeachment, then nothing is, and every following president could act in similar ways or worse. Precedent matters. Accountability matters. What we demand of our congressional leaders matters. What we do now matters more than ever!

Dale P. Denning,

Lawrence