Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country

"From former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a gripping account of the January 6 committee, examining the forces that led to the attacks on the Capitol. On January 6, 2021, America watched in horror as a violent mob led by right-wing extremist groups stormed the U.S. Capitol in support of then-President Donald Trump. It was one of the darkest days in recent history, yet to former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger it was also the culmination of a cultural and political rupture he'd known had long been building. Constructive criticism from within the Republican party was no longer enough. It was time to act-not just for the sake of the soul of his party, but for the very future of our country. Despite vitriol from the media, fellow colleagues, even members of his own family, Kinzinger became one of only two Republican members to join the House select committee to investigate the January 6 Capitol riots. Now in Renegade, he reveals the inner workings and surprising findings of the committee he servedand helped lead, including how the bloody attack on the Capitol was indeed foreseeable and even welcomed by President Trump. Along the way, he examines the forces that allowed such an attack to happen in the first place, from the misinformation campaign waged by Fox News and partisan media to the inculcation of extremism in families and faith communities, and draws from his own personal story of faith, military service, and politics to unpack his most crucial decisions that eventually led him to break from his own party. Part memoir, part searing examination, Renegade offers a searing account of one of the most tumultuous events in recent American history-and the devastating consequences of letting extremism go unchecked, so that the events of January 6 may never happen again"--
While sharing his own personal story of faith, military service and politics, the former Illinois Congressman reveals the inner workings of the House select committee's investigation into the January 6th Capitol riots, examining the forces behind the attack, which led him to break from his own party.
Once a rising star of the Republican Party, Adam Kinzinger became a traitor when he voted to impeach Donald Trump after the January 6 attacks on the Capitol. Now he shares a gripping firsthand account of the events that led to this moment, and the sacrifice required to do what is right.On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to storm the US Capitol in attempts to overturn the presidential election. It was a betrayal of our Constitution, and one of the darkest days in recent history. Yet to former congressman Adam Kinzinger it was also the culmination of a cultural and political rupture he’d long seen coming. Constructive criticism from within the Republican Party was no longer enough. It was time to stand up, even if it meant betraying his own party.In Renegade, Kinzinger tells his story of faith, service, and political duty in a democracy under siege. From the small Illinois county board where he got his start, to his years in the Air Force flying tanker missions over Iraq, to his final tumultuous term in Congress as one of the few Republican members to vote to impeach Trump and join the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Kinzinger takes readers inside the most critical moments and pivotal decisions of the last years. The result is both a searing examination of the rise of extremism and the GOP’s subsequent decent into a dysfunctional and destructive force, and a rousing call to return to unity.Raw, provocative, and clear-eyed, Renegade captures one of the most transformative periods in recent American history.