We The People
Billboards targeting U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman were installed in northern Michigan.
More than a dozen billboards are being installed in northern Michigan to call out U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman for spreading lies about widespread election fraud.
The Watersmeet Republican, who represents the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula, was among three Michigan members of Congress who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory on Jan. 6, the day a violent mob of Trump supporters seized the U.S. Capitol. He also signed a legal brief to challenge the election results in Michigan and three other swing states.
The Michigan-based activist group We the People, which paid for the billboards, said Bergman’s rhetoric and actions provided fuel for the insurrection.
“In Michigan, we know that for democracy to work for all of us, it must include us all. But after the country voted unmistakably for change last November, politicians like Congressman Jack Bergman reacted with vicious lies about the integrity of the election,” Megan Hess, a 1st Congressional District resident and the Rural Organizing Director with We the People Michigan Action Fund. “These lies incited a violent coup attempt Jan. 6. And ever since then, Bergman has been desperately trying to dodge accountability by not answering for his actions and even voting twice to block a thorough investigation into what happened on January 6. We’re asking a simple question: what’s he hiding? Bergman has failed his constituents, and must be held accountable so that we can create a future where we all live with dignity and have our voices respected.”
The billboards show a grainy, black-and-white image of Bergman in front of a panoramic photo of the violent mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“What is Jack Bergman hiding? We deserve the truth about January 6,” the billboard reads.
Five of the billboards have already been installed. They can be seen in Sault Ste. Marie, Manistee, near Escanaba on Highway 2 and outside Traverse City in Williamsburg and Grawn.
Bergman also voted against the creation of a committee to investigate the insurrection.
“Congressman Bergman attempted to toss his entire district and state’s votes in the trash, including those of Indigenous communities in his own district which overcame historic voter suppression to achieve record turnout,” Hess said. “We will continue to hold our Congressman accountable for trying to throw away our votes and inciting a violent coup attempt with his Big Lie. We will continue to fight racist voter suppression and hold the line for all to be able to vote and be heard. We will continue to stand up for each other, and to build solidarity across our district and with other ordinary Michiganders across the state. And we will work together to ensure that everyone not only lives with dignity and full democratic rights, but flourishes.”
Bergman was reelected to a third term with more than 60% of the vote in November 2020.
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