Former Rep. Rodney Davis is among a group of nearly 150 former members of Congress who have urged current political leaders to treat the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump as a “wake-up call” on political rhetoric.
The Illinois Republican said the political violence at the Trump rally felt familiar, even though it had been more than 40 years since a sitting or former president was shot. He was in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, when the Capitol was attacked by a group of pro-Trump rioters.
And Davis was on the baseball field in 2017 when a gunman shot at GOP lawmakers, critically injuring then-Majority Whip Steve Scalise and a handful of others. Davis hoped that event might mark a turning point, or a return to a more civil form of politics.
