To the editor:

As an Italian American I was horrified by the recent lies being spewed about many of my friends in the Haitian community. It was not so long ago that we Italian Americans were the subject of the same treatment.

I used to work for a Republican who left the party as it changed. He is now an Independent. I feel the same way; this is not the party it was, gone is the common sense and decency. I now fear for our democracy.

If Trump had not egged on an angry crowd of MAGA followers possessing weapons with lies on Jan. 6th Officer Sicknick would not have been assaulted. “Two men who were arrested for assaulting Sicknick are alleged to have sprayed three officers, including Sicknick, in the face with bear spray. The medical examiner’s release said Sicknick was sprayed with a chemical substance at about 2:20 p.m. He collapsed at about 10 p.m. and was transported by D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services to a local hospital where he died the next evening around 9:30 p.m.” — CNN.

Officer Sicknick could have been my Dad. For those of us with family who have served in law enforcement and protected this democracy this is personal. We need someone in office who will bring this nation together and move us forward.

Catherine Angela Imbriano Hughes

Cape Coral