MADISON, Wis. – Democratic Party of Wisconsin Interim Executive Director Devin Remiker issued the following statement on the anniversary of Derrick Van Orden’s attendance at the 1/6 attack on our democracy:
“One year ago today, Derrick Van Orden disqualified himself for public office by crossing police lines to spectate as rioters ransacked the building where he now asks Wisconsinites to send him to serve. Van Orden used funds from his own campaign – potentially in violation of federal campaign finance law – to pay his way to Washington so he could sit and watch as attackers assaulted law enforcement and marauded through the halls of the U.S. Capitol, attempting to kidnap the vice president and overturn the results of a free and fair election.
“In the year since Derrick Van Orden rallied with the violent mob that laid siege to our Capitol, we’ve all watched him and his fellow far-right extremists attempt to obfuscate their part in this violent attack. By choosing to perpetuate lies about our election and attempting to rewrite the history of what happened that day, extremists like Derrick Van Orden are choosing to put party and politics over our country and our democracy. Our country cannot afford to continue down this dangerous path, which is why we will work in these next months to defend our freedom and defeat Derrick Van Orden this November.
“Wisconsinites will not soon forget that on one of the darkest days of our democracy, Derrick Van Orden sat back and watched – to him, it was just entertainment.”
