A North Carolina Democrat announced his Senate candidacy by comparing the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
Beaufort Mayor Rett Newton announced his candidacy Tuesday for the seat Republican Sen. Richard Burr will retire from after the 2022 elections. Newton was elected mayor in 2017 to the Atlantic coast town of less than 5,000, though the population swells significantly during spring and summer months as a tourist haven.
Newton, a retired Air Force colonel, said in his campaign announcement video that the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol motivated him to run for the Senate.
Five people died or were fatally injured during the events of Jan. 6: One was a Capitol Police officer, and four were among those who stormed or protested at the Capitol, including one rioter who was shot by police inside the Capitol building. On 9/11, coordinated al Qaeda terrorist attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities and over 25,000 injuries.
Newton’s video contains footage of the terrorist attack against the World Trade Center in 2001, as well as the crowds who stormed the Capitol just months ago in an effort to stop Congress’s certification of President Joe Biden’s victory over then-President Donald Trump.
“I remember like it was yesterday. After the towers went down on September 11th, we were briefed on the rules of engagement. That included the possibility of shooting down a civilian airliner,” he said. “I was an F-15 squadron commander at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro. For months after that day of foreign terrorism, we flew combat air patrols over Washington to protect our nation’s capital.”
“Even today, I still can’t believe an attack like that could happen in our country,” Newton said. “Twenty years later, I had that same sinking feeling, but this time, it was different. An insurrection inflicted by our own people and a president, his family, and supporters against our own government — a domestic terrorist attack in the house of our democracy.”
The video also flashes images of Trump and potential GOP Senate opponents, including Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of the former president, and former Rep. Mark Walker. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican and Walker endorser, is also shown.
“I am in this race because our democracy is under attack, and certainly the Trump family, Trump supporters are part of that attack on our democracy,” Newton said as all three of their images are shown. “So, yes, we can provide a stark contrast to the Trump family and those Trump supporters.”
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Of the 375 people arrested and charged involved in the Capitol breach, 11 came from North Carolina.
Other North Carolina Democrats who have also announced their candidacy for the Senate include State Sen. Jeff Jackson, former state Sen. Erica Smith, and virologist Richard Watkins.
