“The president should not indulge any of the hate groups,”
Lawson said in comments published by WFSU on August 16. “I don’t care if those
are the ones that put him into office or not. He is the president of everybody
in America, not one particular group.”
The resolution condemns the president for failing to immediately and specifically name and condemn the white supremacist, Ku Klux Klan, and neo-Nazi groups responsible for actions of domestic terrorism in Charlottesville. It also denounces him for doubling-down on his comments by attempting to create a moral equivalency between white supremacists and those counter-protesting the “Unite the Right” rally. Finally, it calls for the president to fire any and all advisors who have urged him to cater to white supremacist movements in the United States.
Heather Heyer, a 32-year old peace activist who came to the
rally to oppose the white supremacist groups, lost her life after a car struck
her and other counter-protesters. A suspect has been charged with second-degree murder.
U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Bonnie Watson Coleman
(D-NJ), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced the censure resolution against
Trump on August 16. A press release the following day announced that Lawson was
among the co-sponsors.