Choose Clean Water Coalition Statement on US Capitol Riot

(ANNAPOLIS, MD)—Following Wednesday’s horrific events on Capitol Hill, Choose Clean Water Coalition Director Kristin Reilly issued the following statement:

“The Coalition is appalled and outraged by what transpired the afternoon of January 6 in the District of Columbia. This was a subversion of our democratic process and an assault on one of our country's most core beliefs—the peaceful transfer of power. It is also a demonstration of the power of words, and that there are dangerous and deadly consequences when those words are used to promote hate and division.

“We also want to acknowledge that what we saw yesterday in response to this violence was drastically different than what transpired between Black Lives Matter protestors and police just a few streets away in D.C. this summer. While this Coalition is focused on clean water restoration and protection, we cannot ignore attacks to our democracy or the racial inequities in this country that were clearly on display Wednesday.

“In the coming days and weeks, we as the Chesapeake Bay community must come together to denounce hate and violence, and preserve our precious, but fragile, democracy. We look forward to participating in this democracy firsthand as we fight for policies and systemic change that will ensure clean water for everyone in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and for future generations.”

The Choose Clean Water Coalition is an organization that harnesses the collective power of more than 250 local, state, regional, and national groups to advocate for clean rivers and streams in all communities in the Chesapeake region.

# # #

Media Contact:
Drew Robinson
443-927-8049
RobinsonAQ@nwf.org