Given the evidence presented by the January 6 Committee, Attorney General Merrick Garland must bring criminal charges against former President Trump -- now.

In two years since Trump lost the election, every new revelation, whether from text messages released by the Jan 6 Committee or interviews with former cabinet members like Defense Secretary Mark Esper, we learn more about Trump’s leading role in the first attempted coup in the 233-year history of the United States government.

The public evidence is already overwhelming. It’s not hard to imagine how much worse his criminal activity was behind closed doors.

But the window of opportunity for holding Trump accountable is closing fast.

Trump is already well on the way to completely rebuilding the Republican Party around his big lie. He is purging the GOP of his critics and installing loyalists in key state positions. And he is inspiring GOP-state legislatures to enact election sabotage laws that will give Trump and his supporters opportunities to rig congressional election results.

Now that the midterm elections are behind us, America is in the gravitational pull of the 2024 presidential primaries. Unless he is indicted and convicted, Trump will almost certainly play a leading role in every aspect of it.

He has already amassed a vast campaign chest, more than double that of the Republican National Committee.

Some say Garland should not bring criminal charges against Trump because criminal charges have never been brought against a former president, but let’s be clear, no other president has ever done anything even remotely like this. A failure to hold Trump accountable for what he has done would pose a far greater risk for American democracy. It would permanently entrench distrust in our election system, legitimize future battles over every election result, and possibly provoke repeated rounds of violence.

It would also unequivocally undermine the fundamental concept that no one is above the law.

Trump’s indictment and conviction must occur as quickly as possible. The rule of law and the future of our democracy hangs in the balance. The Attorney General and the Department of Justice need unrelenting public pressure to act.

Sign the petition to Merrick Garland: Indict Trump Now!