Warning of ongoing “threats to democracy,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday he will support legislation this year to make it a gross misdemeanor for elected officials and candidates for public office to issue false statements about election outcomes.
“It should not be legal in the state of Washington for elected officials or candidates for office to willfully lie about these election results, and unfortunately they are doing that,” Inslee said. “This needs to be made illegal.”
It was not immediately clear if similar legislation is under consideration in any other state.
Inslee announced his support for the legislation during a legislative preview event hosted by the Associated Press which coincided with the anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
On that same day a year ago, Inslee was rushed to a safe room after pro-Trump supporters, including some who were armed, breached the security gate at the governor’s residence in Olympia and made their way to the front portico.
The three-term Democratic governor, in his most extensive comments on the subject to date, spoke passionately about his concern for the state of democracy in the United States and his belief that Trump is engaged in an ongoing coup attempt. He called for politicians on both sides of the aisle to speak out more forcefully against the former president and his allies.
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