Iacoangeli slams election fraud claims

January 21, 2021 2020 election

Monroe City Councilman John Iacoangeli believes that U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, State Sen. Dale Zorn and State Rep. Joe Bellino helped fuel the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

In a statement he read at the end of Tuesday’s virtual city council meeting, Iacoangeli criticized the three elected officials for frequently repeating former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread election fraud. Tuesday’s work session and meeting were council’s first since the attack in Washington D.C., which left five people dead.

Meeting video:

“We have all seen the events that happened on January 6, and the majority of Americans were horrified at the spectacle of our Capitol under siege by a group of protesters convinced the presidential election had been stolen through fraudulent voting, specifically in battleground states, of which Michigan is one,” Iacoangeli said. “Although there have been no court actions confirming these allegations, or these rumors, they still persist and they have been to a certain extent fueled by our federal and state legislators.

“Tim Walberg, Dale Zorn and Joe Bellino have promoted this misinformation many times in The Monroe News. They have promoted this information, as well as allegations and actual fallacies of what happened during the last election. The constant barrage of widespread voter fraud allegations advanced by our elected officials helped fuel the fire of insurrection that culminated at the Capitol on January 6.

“I’m imploring these gentlemen to stop this messaging,” Iacoangeli continued. “I’m asking them to respect the sanctity of our right to vote. I’m asking them to uphold their constitutional oath of office, to protect and defend the constitution and to stop these remarks regarding voter fraud and voting irregularities. I’m asking them to do what they were elected to do: Serve their constituents, improve our state’s quality of life, represent all voters – not just Republican voters – and above all, I’m asking them to stop this ridiculous and now dangerous discourse on stolen elections and get back to work for the good of their districts.”

Iacoangeli said he was initially conflicted about reading his statement, adding that it was ultimately the celebration of MLK Day that moved him to speak.

“(On Monday) during the many news briefings and documentaries on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of his sayings at one of his speeches rang out clearly to me,” Iacoangeli said. “He said: ’Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.’ What happened on January 6, and what our representatives have done and our state senator has done regarding this misinformation needs to be called out, and they need to be asked to stop.

“It’s time for unity, and you can only have unity when people start talking with each other and quit with the misinformation.”

While no other council members mentioned any elected officials by name, Mayor Robert Clark echoed Iacoangeli’s call to recognize the validity of the November election.

“I think of our community, and how well and how professional and how accurate our election was held here,” Clark said. “Logically, I don’t understand why it can’t be recognized collectively…”

Clark added that he is most disappointed when he reads of elected officials complaining about disagreements with their peers across the aisle.

“What I find discouraging is when there is a dislike or a comment to be made, the first thing is let’s talk about what you don’t get along about,” the mayor said. “What I’d like to see is let’s start saying ’Here’s how we can get to a resolution.’ I was disappointed to read how (some elected officials say) ’we don’t like this,’ how ’we’ aren’t getting included in this.’ Step in and take action.

“You just can’t do it from the sidelines.”

*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Monroe Evening News can be found here ***