Hundreds of people of faith call on Tennessee’s Republican congressional delegation to repudiate lies about election fraud

More than 300 people of faith are calling on the Republican members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation to repudiate the lie claiming the 2020 presidential election was a fraud. 

The group signed a letter critical of the elected officials and former President Donald Trump, calling for action in the wake of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot. 

“We call upon you to publicly acknowledge the Big Lie that this was a fraudulent national election. This was a fair and free election which has been upheld by 60 courts, Trump-appointed judges on the Supreme Court, and former Attorney General William Barr,” the letter states. “We, the undersigned clergy, and people of faith and moral concern demand that you speak truth now and repudiate the Big Lie to prevent more violence.” 

The letter was shipped to the offices of U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, said the Rev. Neelley Hicks, who helped organize the effort. The letter was also forwarded to staff members of the seven Tennessee Republicans serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hicks, the executive director of Harper Hill Global in Nashville, said via email.

In addition to sending the letter, members of three Abrahamic faith traditions who signed the letter also read it together on Feb. 12 during a brief Facebook live video. Hicks, a Christian, was joined by Pat Halper, a member of Nashville’s Jewish community, and Sabina Mohyuddin, a Muslim woman and the executive director of the American Muslim Advisory Council. 

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Hicks said their faith in God demands that they speak up. 

“We expect better,” Hicks said in the Facebook video. “Caring for our Democracy is crucial at this point in time when it has been threatened so greatly.” 

How did Tennessee’s Republican members of Congress respond? 

When asked by The Tennessean for a response to the letter, Hagerty’s spokesman Judd Deere said via email the senator had immediately condemned the violence at the Capitol, and he wants to protect the country’s elections. 

“The Senator’s ultimate goal is to protect the Electoral College so that Tennesseans always have a voice in deciding the presidency, which is why he believes we must examine how, using the pandemic as an excuse, activists changed the election rules that did in fact lead to less secure methods of voting, invited wrongdoing, and prevented adequate oversight. Ensuring each state conducts constitutional elections in which we can all be confident must be a priority,” said Deere, who previously worked for the Trump White House. 

The rest of the Republican members of Tennessee’s delegation — Blackburn and U.S. Reps. Tim Burchett, Scott DesJarlais, Chuck Fleischmann, Mark Green, Diana Harshbarger, Dave Kustoff and John Rose — did not respond to The Tennessean’s request for comment.   

Like Hagerty, they have all condemned the mob.

Blackburn and Hagerty, staunch supporters of Trump, had announced that they planned to object to the Electoral College vote. But the two senators reversed course after the Capitol attack and voted against congressional efforts to challenge the votes confirming President Joe Biden’s election. The state’s GOP House delegation voted against certifying the vote in key states.

Before this year, the last time Congress heard an Electoral College objection was in 2005, when Democrats challenged President George W. Bush’s victory in Ohio. 

A few days before the Capitol mob the two senators from Tennessee also joined a group of Republican senators calling for the creation of an electoral commission that would conduct an emergency audit of disputed election results. 

No credible evidence of a stolen election

Despite no credible evidence to support the claim, Trump repeatedly said the election was rigged against him, according to a USA TODAY report. Trump’s Justice and Homeland Security departments also said no serious fraud was committed and the courts repeatedly struck down challenges as well. Biden won with 306-232 of the Electoral College votes. 

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The letter sent by the 300-plus people of faith blames Trump for inciting the violent mob that broke into the U.S. Capitol as congressional members were certifying Biden’s victory. Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives for the role he played in the riot, but the U.S. Senate did not have the votes on Feb. 13 to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial.    

The letter also accused the Republican members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation of amplifying Trump’s rhetoric.

“The events of January 6, 2021 would not have happened without the echoes you gave to Donald Trump’s words; the credibility you gave to his lies, and the supportive wall you built around him that will continue to undermine dedicated leaders and departments of the Federal government. You stood ready to sacrifice our democracy and states’ rights to keep him in power,” the letter states.

“We are a nation of laws and your positions attempted to render the rulings of our state courts, the Supreme Court, and our nation’s attorney general invalid.”

Reach Holly Meyer at hmeyer@tennessean.com or 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer. 

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