2 More Brooklyn Members of Congress Won't Attend Trump's Inauguration

BROOKLYN, NY — Three of Brooklyn's congressional representatives have now said they won't attend Friday's inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump.

In a Monday press release, Rep. Yvette Clarke, whose district includes Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Flatbush and Ditmas Park, became the latest Brooklyn representative to announce that she'll skip the proceedings.

Echoing Georgia Rep. John Lewis, Clarke wrote that while she had been "inclined to attend the inauguration" at first, she decided against doing so because "the normal democratic process has so clearly been undermined."

"To state the matter simply, the 2016 presidential election lacks integrity," Clarke said, specifically referring to "the deliberate attack by the Russian government on the most sacred exercise of our political process."

Clarke also called for "an independent, bipartisan commission [to] thoroughly investigate the hostile intrusion by the Russian government into American politics."

A spokesman, Patrick Rheaume, clarified that Clarke "of course acknowledges that [Trump] will be the president" and doesn't challenge his legal right to power, but added that any "interference by a foreign power" threatens to undermine the integrity of American elections in the eyes of the public.

In her statement, Clarke also wrote that she is "deeply concerned about the threat Donald Trump presents to the community I am honored to represent." The President-Elect failed to speak out against a reported uptick in hate crimes following his election, Clarke said, while nominating individuals to top government posts "who have devoted their careers to denying the civil rights of and creating a false, demeaning narrative about African Americans, Latinos, women, Muslims, and immigrants."

The congresswoman intends to conduct a community event in Brooklyn on Friday, Rheaume said, though its time and location have yet to be set.

Also on Jan. 16, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes Red Hook, Sunset Park, Kensington and Borough Park, announced that he, too, will skip Trump's inauguration.

“The rhetoric and actions of Donald Trump have been so far beyond the pale – so disturbing and disheartening – and his continued failure to address his conflicts of interest, to adequately divest or even to fully disclose his financial dealings, or to sufficiently separate himself from the ethical misconduct that legal experts on both side of the aisle have identified have been so offensive I cannot in good conscience participate in this honored and revered democratic tradition of the peaceful transfer of power," Nadler said in a statement.

“We cannot normalize Donald Trump, and we certainly cannot turn our heads and ignore such a threat to the institutions and values of our democracy," he added.

Clarke and Nadler join Rep. Nydia Velázquez, whose district includes Williamsburg, Bushwick, Gowanus, Red Hook and Sunset Park, who on Jan. 9 tweeted that she would both skip the inauguration and join the planned Jan. 21 "Women's March on Washington."

A spokesman, Alex Haurek, said that Velázquez's decision was based on "the tone of the campaign," adding that the decision was made "weeks ago."

Top image of 2013 inauguration by Cpl. Daniel Wetzel, Department of Defense, public domain