The Illinois Freedom Caucus filed articles of impeachment against Governor J.B. Pritzker for what they argue is engaging in conduct and incites violence.
According to the impeachment resolution, Pritzker has “issued inflammatory statements that incite violence against elected officials, citizens, and persons located in the United States and has failed to uphold the constitutional requirement to faithfully execute the laws of the State of Illinois.”
The resolution quotes Pritzker’s questionable comments, such as those comparing Republicans to German Nazis. “The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems. . . . If you think I’m overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this: It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic,” the filing says.
It also cites Pritzker as saying Republicans “cannot know a moment of peace.”
“Statements that advocate for the physical and mental harm of an individual, that compare political opponents to a violent and hateful political party from world history, and that normalize violence against another person due to political differences constitute a failure to uphold his constitutional duties,” the resolution reads, declaring that the comments “warrant his impeachment and trial, removal from office as Governor, and disqualification to hold any public office of this State in the future.”
One of the lawmakers behind the resolution, State Rep. Adam Niemerg, told NBC 5 Chicago that the governor’s statements “deeply concern me, and they do not fall on deaf ears. This political rhetoric has consequences.”
