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The following letter was written to Rep. Richard Hudson:

As one of your constituents, I am dismayed that you continue to promote lies and conspiracy stories about the election to your “base,” and now as a co-conspirator in the Congress, in front of the entire world, to forever place yourself in the camp of insurrectionists that stormed the Capitol last night.

Oh, no, you might not have urged them in the president’s words, telling his supporters to storm the Capitol. But your continued support of his lies about the election most certainly did feed into the culture of violence that has brought us, once the world’s greatest democracy, almost to our knees.

Your support of the president’s lies and those of some of your Republican cohorts and those of some of your constituents, are nothing short of treachery. Treachery (the betrayal of a trust, Webster’s Dictionary) may seem like a strong word, but your failure to abide by your oath to serve as representative of the people of our District and of the Constitution itself, puts you alongside those who betrayed our democracy.

Have you read and listened to the “real” media today from around the world? About leaders who believe we might have gone berserk? Well, your people did go berserk, didn’t they, Rep. Hudson, as they breached the Capitol Building by force. Some were armed with firearms and explosive devices. They temporarily delayed the certification of the election, looted and destroyed offices, confidential materials and property.

You weren’t in the room perhaps, but I bet you heard about Sen. Mitt Romney’s yelling, “This is what you’ve gotten, guys,” addressing your cohorts and you, Rep. Hudson, who voted to question the election process and have supported Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the election. Then Mr. Romney said, “Just tell the people the truth!”

Yes, Rep. Hudson, this is what you’ve gotten — what we’ve gotten — because you have not promoted the truth. You’ve also gotten yourself a place in the history books of those who were on the wrong side of democracy this week. As was said to Joe McCarthy decades ago, “Have you no shame, Rep. Hudson?”

Ron O. Bryant

Norwood