APSA American Political Science Assocation

Statement Condemning the Violent Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Expanded The American Political Science Association strongly condemns President Trump, Republican legislators, and all those who have continuously endorsed and disseminated falsehoods and misinformation, and who have worked to overturn the results of a free and fair Presidential Election. The President’s continuous lies, as well as his racist and xenophobic language and policies, have stoked existing, and sown anew, mistrust in the democratic process in the United States. We strongly condemn the insurrection and violent and deadly attack upon the U.S. Capitol. No tolerance should be given to the insurrectionists and the hatred and lies that motivate them.

We apologize for the Statement of January 7th on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The statement failed to adequately address and condemn the historical, social, and political contextual factors that led to it, including xenophobia, white supremacy, white nationalism, right-wing extremism, and racism. We also condemn the racial disparities in treatment by law enforcement and the unequal application of the law. We apologize for the distress our statement caused during this painful moment in our history.
We deeply regret the use of the phrase “both sides.” The term evoked deeply harmful rhetoric. To be clear: numerous elected Republicans in the Senate, the House, and the President of the United States acted dangerously and in ways that betrayed their oaths to the Constitution. They bear responsibility and are accountable for the horrific and deadly actions on January 6th. We will amend the previous statement to reflect these points.

We commit to undertaking a review of the process used to draft and issue public statements for the Association. We commit to doing a better job of seeking to understand, acknowledge, and communicate the myriad factors involved in the issues we are addressing as an association and society while centering political scientists who have devoted their careers to studying these phenomena, especially Black and Indigenous Scholars, Scholars of Color, Women and other Scholars who have been marginalized historically.